Enemies of the State
by NighthawkJack
Summary: At the end of the day, each hero sees their efforts come to fruition as their nemeses are defeated. Yet Justice is never truly done. What happens when those who fled unite and return to claim their own brand of justice? It will be left up to a few select trainers to fight back, and right the world that was so brutally turned upside-down. Rated M for darker elements/language.
1. Chapter 1

**[1]**

**[Parts Unknown]**

"So you've set your plans in motion, then?"

"Naturally. Assuming control should be perfectly easy for you. And if you encounter any resistance, you can let me know, and we'll deal with the problem."

"Of course. Are the others onboard with this?"

"Quite so. There was a little bit of a problem reaching Cipher, being so far out and whatnot, but even they have come into our little party."

"Excellent. Even the most stubborn of trainers will be powerful before us now. This alliance will never fail."

"I should hope not. I'm putting quite a bit into this."

"We all are. Your efforts to collect the DNA of your region's legends have not gone unnoticed. My laboratory has almost completed the work I ordered. Although having something that powerful flying around… let alone _several_ somethings…"

"If it frightens you, Giovanni, then it's perfectly normal. It's but a taste of what our opponents will feel when we bring our full wrath to bear against them."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. I only hope this little plan doesn't blow up in our collective faces."

"I can promise you that it won't. In the meantime, I have other work to do. I'll be in touch."

"Of course, Ghetsis. Of course."

**[Orre; Agate Village]**

"Where are you off to now, Pierce?" the young girl asked.

"Down to the waterfall, I think. It's a little more peaceful down there. Plus, my team seems to like being near the Celebi monument," the trainer answered. "Don't worry, I won't be long."

"Alright."

Pierce left his home on the highest hill in Agate Village, strolling along the grassy paths. He enjoyed being here, but was never able to get the free time he wanted. Then again, being the Champion was an important job, as he'd found out from similar trainers from other regions. If a challenger managed to defeat the other members of the Elite Four, they would naturally want to challenge him next. Naturally, his Pokémon wanted him to continue growing stronger, and therefore would refuse to admit defeat.

He took a deep breath, trying to absorb as much of the air as possible. For being one of the few plant-covered areas in the Orre region, the air was remarkably fresh and clean. There was a reason this was considered a retirement village. The soft sounds, the healthy plant growth, the wonderful climate, they were idyllic. Of course, there were more than just elderly people living here nowadays. Pierce's fame as Champion had drawn younger trainers here, hopeful to glean some of his secrets.

A few minutes later, he sat in a clearing toward the back of the village. Months ago, a storm had hit, with lightning bringing down one of the trees. With his Pokémon helping him, he'd removed most of the tree, sanding and smoothing the trunk until it became a more comfortable chair for him to sit on. In front of him was a stone dais, with a pillar in the center of it. The pillar, it had been said, held a store of power from the legendary Pokémon Celebi. Years before, it had proven instrumental in helping countless Pokémon, cruelly transformed into mere mockeries of their normal selves by the thoughtlessness of mankind.

Yet here were some of them now, happily playing, sunbathing, enjoying the weather and the peacefulness of the clearing. It made Pierce smile, watching them. He idly started scratching the mane of the Pokémon next to him, an Arcanine. It, too, had been in danger of being transformed, but had been rescued by a powerful trainer and returned to him.

After about an hour or so, he got up and stretched. His Pokémon immediately came back to him, content with the brief period of rest they'd gotten. He called them all back into their Poké Balls and set off for the cavern passage back into the village.

Once he emerged on the other side of the cavern, he was greeted by a bizarre sight. All the trainers he'd seen wandering around before were nowhere to be found. All of the Pokémon had gone as well, leaving only a few wild Bug-types scurrying through the grass.

He continued to check many of the obvious places, but even the Poké Mart was deserted, the clerk having hung a "CLOSED" sign on the door. Disappointed, and slightly confused, he returned to his home, where he was greeted by his friend Alyssa.

"Pierce! There you are. I was worried," she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Where's everyone at?"

"Officer Sherles came through here," Alyssa answered. "He said everyone needed to go home and stay there for awhile, and to watch the television for further updates."

"Sherles came all the way out here? Pyrite Town must be dead, then," the Champion mused.

"It's not funny!" Alyssa said. "I watched the TV like he said, and… Oh, Pierce…"

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

"They've disbanded the Pokémon League," Alyssa answered. "The Elite Four have been removed and the Gyms have all been closed. Even the Pre Gym in Phenac City."

Pierce's eyes narrowed. "Did they give a reason?"

"All that was said was that the League was being investigated for criminal activity," Alyssa answered. "They ordered all the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four to report to the Pre Gym immediately, including you."

"Well, then. I guess I'd better do as they say," Pierce said, trepidation growing in his gut. "Just… sit here and stay safe. If anyone strange comes around, don't be afraid to hide downstairs." Alyssa nodded, and after a few minutes of preparation, he set off, leaving Agate behind him, even more unsettlingly peaceful than it had been less than two hours before…


	2. Chapter 2

**[2] **

**-Sinnoh- **

"…when questioned, Professor Rowan declined comment, stating only that he hoped justice would win out. For Jubilife TV, I'm-"

The television switched off abruptly. Standing in front of it, completely motionless, was a tall woman with long, blond hair, clad completely in black. "This is preposterous," she said, fuming. "How in the world can they arrest Gym Leaders like this? It's unfathomable."

"I know, Cynthia, but there's nothing we can do from here. If you go out there, you'd be arrested just as they were. Or else, like Flint and Volkner, be on the run," an older woman said. "The only thing you can do for now is to lay low. Unfortunately, it means your Pokémon will have to remain in their Poké Balls for right now."

"That's unfair. There should be some sort of way to combat this," Cynthia said stubbornly. She pursed her lips, thinking, and added, "Something is wrong with this. There's never been any one person who made decisions for the entire Sinnoh Region before. Not even I, in my tenure as Champion, would dare make this kind of judgment call."

"I know, dear," the older woman answered. "But as I said. The only thing for it is for you to stay in hiding for now. We can keep you safe here. "

"Safe didn't make me Champion of the Sinnoh League, and safe didn't help me when I went against Team Galactic," Cynthia responded. "Personally, I don't think it's going to keep me safe now. I have to at least try to contact the other Champions and make sure they're alright."

After a few silent moments, the old woman sighed. "Very well," she said. "But make it short. I fear to think of what will happen if you're found out…"

**-Hoenn-**

"Mr. Stone? There's a call waiting for you from Sinnoh," the young woman's voice said over the intercom.

"Thank you, Madeline. I'll take it in here," came the reply. Turning around in his chair, the blue-haired man looked at the large wall TV mounted behind him. The screen flared to life, revealing a black-clad blond wearing a look of desperation. "Steven? Steven, are you there?" she asked.

"Cynthia! What a surprise. And here I thought you guys in Sinnoh were never going to speak to anyone ever again," Steven said, smiling.

"Steven, this is serious," Cynthia snapped. "Have you been watching the news today?"

"Today? No, I've been in meetings most of the morning," Steven answered. "What's happened?"

"A lot. Some organization has been put into power, even over the Pokémon League. Members of the Elite Four and Gym Leaders are being arrested here," Cynthia answered. "You need to watch yourself. Something similar may be happening there."

Steven was on the verge of a reply, but heard Madeline's voice from her office. "I'm sorry, he's in a conference call right now. You can't go in there."

"Looks like you're right," he said.

"You have to get out of there. Right now," Cynthia said. "Go into hiding. I'll find a way to get in touch with you. Warn the others if you can."

Steven nodded and switched off the monitor. He barely had time to turn around before his office door crashed inward, bowled over by a blue, muscular Pokémon, Machoke. "What the-"

"Steven Stone," a voice said from behind the Machoke. Stepping out from behind it was a man dressed in mostly black, with a red cloak draped around his shoulders. "You are under arrest. You are going to come with me right now."

"Well, well. If it isn't Maxie. And back in charge of Team Magma, I see," Steven said. "Here I thought you were safely behind bars after the Sootopolis incident. It appears I was mistaken."

"Indeed I was, but no longer. With much thanks to my partners, it will now be you who is placed behind bars, you who condones the inherent violence of Pokémon battling, Gym challenges, and nonsense like that," Maxie said.

"What're you talking about, Maxie? You tried to control Groudon and make it create more landmasses to suit your needs. That's a gross abuse of a Pokémon's power. You have no right to talk to me about things like that. And I am most certainly not going with you. At least, not without a fight."

"Very well, then. Camerupt, come out!" Maxie said, tossing a Poké Ball. A large, camel-like Pokémon emerged. "Use Yawn. Make him realize just how tiring his job is."

The Pokémon opened its mouth wide, letting out a long sigh of air that caused Steven to grow oddly warm. His eyes began to droop, despite his best efforts to force them open. His mind half-obscured, he tried to formulate a means of escape, but could think of nothing before sleep claimed him.


	3. Chapter 3

**[3]**

**-Kanto, Saffron City-**

"Come out of there right now! You're under arrest!" came the voice from outside the door. There were several thuds against it, the sound of someone pounding on the glass in an attempt to get in.

The raven-haired girl cast a disinterested look at the door. "Go away. You're all pests." The shouting and pounding immediately subsided.

"Sabrina, you know you can't do this forever. You'll have to sleep sometime, and when you do, they're sure to get in," one of the men standing beside her said.

"Oh, I know. But I plan on being far away from here before I go to sleep," she said, smiling slightly. "Even now, plans are underway to get things going the way they were. I have to leave here in order to meet up with the resistance movement."

"Resistance movement?" the trainer said, confused.

"There's a resistance movement already forming. These people have dislodged other Gym Leaders, and even the Pokémon Leagues of every region from here to Unova. Some of them have gotten away, and they're none too thrilled about what's happening. It should be… fun," Sabrina answered.

"I see. Then you should get away from here quickly and meet up with them," the trainer answered.

"I know. And I'll get there… eventually," she said. "First they have to realize they're meeting up."

The pounding on the door began again, accompanied by the shouting. "Sabrina, it's over! Come out peacefully or we will enter and take you by force!"

"They really are pathetic. Here. I'll send them farther away so they won't bother you for awhile. Blaine's already gone underground, so Cinnibar Island should be a good place for them," Sabrina said. Her eyes glowed slightly, and once again, the intruders were teleported away. She sighed. "This is getting boring, though. I should go ahead and leave. I'll be back for you soon, though. Even when you're captured, know that we'll rescue you."

The trainers around her nodded, and she felt a twinge of guilt as she herself was teleported away. She'd be back for them. She promised. So why was she so unsure?

**-Parts Unknown-**

"How goes the cleanup?"

"Some of the Leaders are proving rather… difficult. In fact, some of them have fled entirely, even Sabrina. I have teams all over Kanto looking for her, but so far they've had no luck."

"No, I don't imagine they would. And what of the Oak Laboratory?"

"Deserted. Mind you, he _is_ one of the most influential members of the entire Pokémon world. He could be virtually anywhere, save for Unova. He never seems to travel there for some reason. And then there's his grandson to consider."

"Oh, yes. That brat that took over my Gym after I abandoned it. Turned it into a mockery of itself. I understand he's grown quite strong as well."

"Naturally. Still, it's only a matter of time until all of them are tracked down and brought in. We're making more progress each day."

"And how long until Ghetsis is ready to make his grand speech?"

"Not much longer. And we already have the bill drafted, ready for you to sign upon your installation as President, sir."

"Excellent. The sooner this happens, the better. The police forces can do nothing more than detain Trainers under suspicion. I want the arrests formalized and the Pokémon stripped away from those fools. The only Trainers left will be under my payroll."

"Of course, sir. I'll be off to contact Zinzolin right away."

**-Orre, Citadel Isle-**

"So… are you moving the Pokémon League HQ here, or are you just visiting?" one of the scientists asked.

"Just visiting. I need a way to get away from Orre for awhile. A little too constricting here for the time being," Pierce answered. "Besides, the League is fine where it is, assuming we can actually get everyone back together after all this."

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten the stories of the arrests. Sherles is still holding them?"

"You know Sherles. He doesn't like doing it, but he also has to try to stay strong enough that Johnson doesn't find a reason to kill him in his sleep and take over," Pierce answered. "But truthfully, he can't hold them for long. They haven't done anything illegal, and he knows it."

"So why do you need to get away?" the scientist asked.

"Because there's something more sinister at work here. I have to find out what it is. Sherles wouldn't just show up out of the blue in Agate and start threatening Trainers like that. He has too much respect, especially after what happened a few years ago."

"That's true. So where are you going?"

"I need to explore some of the other regions, get a read on the situation there. I can't tell you too much, for obvious reasons," Pierce answered. "Just do me a favor?"

"Anything for the Champion."

"If they take over here, don't let them change the name back. I don't care about its history, Citadark Isle just never made any sense to anyone."


	4. Chapter 4

**[4]**

**-Hoenn-**

"What are we supposed to do, Blaze?" the fiery-haired girl asked. The Blaziken standing next to her worked its mouth, and she said, "Right. You don't have any more of an idea than I do."

The tall Pokemon shrugged helplessly. The truth was, he had never been this _frightened _before. He had had to get his Trainer to safety when strange men in red robes burst into the Gym and started shouting at her. It wasn't difficult; the training she'd given him since he was a Torchic had been intense, and never failed to leave him feeling stronger for the experience.

And yet he had no idea where to go from here. They were hiding out in one of the caves outside of Lavaridge Town for the time being, but… what next? If those men came back, he wasn't sure he could face all of them for long. But still, he wasn't sure his Trainer would do well being on the run.

"I guess there's really not much for it," she said. "We'll have to go into hiding for now. Unfortunately, that means you have to stay in your Poké Ball. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I can stop in at Grandpa's and get a change of clothes, a disguise of some sort. I'll be less obtrusive if people can't see you."

Blaziken reluctantly muttered his assent, and Flannery, almost equally as reluctant, recalled him to his Poké Ball. Hiding it with the others, she crept toward the mouth of the cave and poked her head out. Not seeing anyone nearby, she began sneaking off to the north.

Hours later, she walked out of her grandfather's house in Fallarbor Town, completely unrecognizable as the same person she'd been when she abandoned the Gym. She had donned a fresh set of clothes, including cargo pants, a matching jacket, and a paperboy-style cap, all in a greenish color. It would help hide her in the ash between Fallarbor Town and Lavaridge Town, and wouldn't stand out much anywhere else.

Still, she didn't much care for it. It was too boring, and she'd been forced to cut her hair a little and darken it. She'd worked hard on it, and had become quite proud of it. _Oh well, _she sighed. _I won't do my Gym any good if I'm in jail, will it?_

The question was… where did she go from here?

**-Sinnoh, Canalave City-**

"Miss Cynthia?" He's here," the librarian said in a hushed voice.

"Good. Send him up here," the blond answered. She'd had to alter her appearance, opting to lose the decorations in her hair and the black pantsuit she typically wore for something less obtrusive. Her long hair was worn up in a braid.

Up the stairs walked a man she could always recognize, but only because she'd taken time to go and meet him personally. "Pierce," she said. "It's good to see you again."

"Cynthia," he said, tipping the brim of his hat to her. "You as well. And one of these days, you'll remember to actually call me by my first name instead of my last. It's-"

"I know your name. It just makes more sense to call you Pierce," Cynthia said, cutting him off with a smile. "Don't ask me why."

"If you say so. Like the new look, by the way," he answered.

"It became necessary given recent events. I notice you're still wearing the same kinds of things you did when you formed the Orre League," Cynthia said.

"Well, we _are_ a little more off the beaten path. For example, our last out-of-town visitor was you," Pierce replied. "And yeah, I know. The news has even reached me all the way in Agate Village. Exactly twenty seconds after Sherles left, having come to arrest me as well."

"Pierce, that's… that's horrible. How did you manage to get away?" Cynthia asked.

"I actually had a pretty easy time of it," he answered. "Sherles' heart wasn't really in it. If it had been, he would've sent Johnson out to get me instead. I think he's actually trying to give me a chance, truth be told."

"I see," Cynthia said. She turned in her seat and looked out the window at the sea. "What are we going to do, Pierce? The whole world's been turned upside down, the Champions are on the run… well, except Steven. They got him already."

"They arrested Steven?" Pierce said in alarm. "That's not good. You don't think Lance-"

"No, he's fine," Cynthia answered. "He and his cousin took off long before the real trouble started. They're probably hiding out in one of the Dragon villages. Not even these groups are stupid enough to go out there. And Red, well… when does he _ever_ come down from Mt. Silver?"

"That's true. So it looks like it's… what, us? The few Gym leaders who escaped?" Pierce asked.

"Seems like it. The trick is going to be tracking them down without showing up on any radars. We may be too late in most cases, and I guarantee almost nobody's going to be in their Gyms after this. Well, except for Blaine," Cynthia answered.

"Yeah, I don't imagine anyone wants to be too close to a volcano that just erupted a few years ago. Heck, I was even tempted to set up a base at either Mount Battle or Citadel Isle myself," Pierce said, grinning.

"Why am I not surprised?" Cynthia asked. "Still, though. We should get a move on. Try to get to some of the others before it's too late."

"Before it's too late. You make it sound like we're actually in trouble here," Pierce said.

"Aren't we? You haven't heard the names that are running this new regime, have you?" Pierce shook his head. "Giovanni. Cyrus. Maxie. Archie. Ghetsis."

"And Greevil, right?"

"How did you know?"

"You named the heads of every major crime syndicate in the world. Rocket, Plasma, and Galactic are bad enough. It may take a while, but if they're rallying together, you can bet Cipher won't be far behind. That _will_ be a world of trouble, and it's one we have to avoid at all costs."


	5. Chapter 5

**[5]**

**-Unova; Mistralton City-**

"Look, I don't know what you guys want from me. I stopped being a Gym Leader a year and a half ago," the brunette said. "I'm strictly a pilot now."

"What we want, Miss Skyla, is to ensure that you're not shipping any contraband. The only way to do that is to have one of our agents accompany each of your flights in and out of Mistralton City," the police officer said.

"Fine, then. Are you going to pay for fuel expenditure for each of these flights? I mean, depending on the size of the person in question, that's a lot of extra mass to move, which can use up a lot more fuel," Skyla answered. She was bullshitting and she knew it. Her hope, though, was that this guy would be too thick to get it.

"Regardless of how much extra you'd need, this is an official mandate. We don't compensate suspected criminals for anything," the officer answered.

"Right. Because I'm suspected of transporting contraband, which includes… what, exactly?"

"Pokémon Trainers, Pokémon not indigenous to the Unova region, Pokémon that are being held against their will, people who research Pokémon through invasive methods," the officer answered.

"That's… completely ridiculous," Skyla said. "I transport supplies and food from one region to another. My client list in Unova alone is longer than your arm. If I have to carry one of your lackeys on each flight, not only will I use more fuel, some of my buyers will get uneasy and I'll lose business."

"That's not my problem," the officer said. "Find another line of work if you can't deal with it."

"Whatever. Get your lackey out here, cause I'm taking off in five minutes," Skyla snapped.

"Lucky for you, I don't have an agent to send on this run right now. But rest assured, someone will be stationed here permanently starting tomorrow," the officer said. "Have a pleasant day."

He left, and Skyla opened the cargo hold on her plane. Inside were several crates labelled "Pokémon Food." She walked to one of the crates and opened it, reveaing a black-clad man leaning against the side of it, almost casually. "Sounds like we got lucky today."

"You have no idea. Bad enough I had to lie about being a trainer. If I'd gotten caught transporting you and Cynthia, we'd all have been in deep," Skyla answered.

"Come on, Skyla. Three of us against one officer? I think we'd have a slight advantage," Pierce answered, smirking as he opened the adjacent crate, revealing Cynthia.

"That's not the point, Pierce," Cynthia said, giving him a disapproving look. "If we attack an officer of the International Police, we're validating everything they're saying about Pokémon trainers now. We'll look more like the criminals they say we are."

"I still don't understand why the police are saying trainers are criminals all of a sudden. Half of them are trainers themselves, after all," Pierce said.

"Because the masterminds of this new regime are the heads of every evil organization within the past decade and all of them have sought the exploitation of Pokémon for their own ends," Cynthia answered dryly.

"Fair enough," Pierce replied. "Still, though. I have to wonder how they managed to get involved on such a level that they're effectively 'running the show', as it were."

"You know the expression 'money talks?' Well, you have to imagine what kind of funds these teams had to have in order to have some of the things they did. Giovanni alone used to be the Gym Leader of Viridian City, and you know as well as we do what kind of bank that rolls in," Skyla said.

"And Cyrus had massive amounts of money too, though we were never able to establish where that came from. I can imagine he sold a lot of the technology Team Galactic used to track down and capture Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon," Cynthia added.

"Fair enough," Pierce said. "The sooner we get a move on, the sooner we can bring these guys down and get things back to normal."

"Good. Next question. If the IP are going to be standing over Skyla's flights, how do we meet up? And where?" Cynthia asked.

"Well, I'd imagine we need to find out how many more of us there actually are," Pierce answered. "Then we can actually put a plan in motion, rather than just think about it. Also, we'll need a boat."

"A boat?" Cynthia asked, a quizzical look on her face.

"A boat. Skyla's effectively grounded, and we'll need a way to move around without going through official channels," Pierce answered. "Oddly enough, where we were once respected in the Pokémon world, now we're having to adopt the tactics our foes once used."


	6. Chapter 6

**[6]**

**-Orre, Pyrite Town-**

"You know the rules, kid. Nobody's allowed to have Pokémon except those who are authorized. And you're not authorized."

"What are you talking about? Nobody said anything to us!" the trainer objected.

"I don't buy that and you know it. Come on, kid. Time to fork over your Pokémon."

"No way! You'll have to pry it away from me, stupid Power Ranger lookalike," the trainer spat.

The man across from him flashed an evil smile. "Whatever you say, kid," he said. He extended his arm slightly, and the device he wore began to activate. A Poké Ball dropped into a slot in his palm and he threw it, striking the trainer's Pokémon.

The trainer's eyes widened in disbelief as the ball opened, spilling a dark red light onto his Pokémon. The light retreated to the ball, the Pokémon captured within it. "What the hell? You're not supposed to be able to catch a Pokémon that's already registered to a Poké Ball!" the trainer yelled.

"Then clearly you're not from here," the man said. "Otherwise you'd know who we are. For now, just know this. Your Pokémon is a lot better off with us than it could ever be with you."

The man left, taking his colleagues with him and leaving the trainer devastated in the middle of the square. All around him, people started whispering.

"Wow… did you see that?"

"Stole the kid's Pokémon, just like back then."

"Do you really think it's them?"

"I hope not. I don't want to deal with Cipher again…"

**-Sinnoh; Sunyshore City-**

"You manage to get away alright, I guess?"

"Yeah. Cynthia sent us a warning and we all made a break for it. What about you, Volkner? Any trouble getting away?"

"Nah. They're used to me walking out of the Gym for no reason. Hey, Flint?"

"Yeah, buddy," Flint answered.

""What the hell's going on? This whole thing is a drag," Volkner said, sighing heavily.

Flint snorted in amusement. "I got no idea, man. I'm as lost as you are. Cynthia gave us a call and we split. I figure it's something big, though, or else we wouldn't have been told to lay low. Only thing I know is we were supposed to meet a boat here or something."

"Good thing the lighthouse is working, then," Volkner said, smirking slightly.

The two friends started laughing as they walked along the shoreline.

**-Hoenn, Lilycove City-**

She stood next to a grizzled old man, watching the contest screens, but not paying attention to the results. The contests were the one thing they still allowed in Hoenn, as far as Pokémon were concerned. Supposedly, the reasoning was that since there weren't battles being conducted, the contests were not harmful to the welfare of Pokémon. _Because dressing them up like that is _sooo_ much better, _she thought, resisting the urge to gag at the Pokémon presently on screen.

"So you realize this is quite a long journey we'd be undertaking," the old man said in a low voice.

"I understand. If I thought I could find another way to get there, I'd do so," she answered.

"That's not necessary, Miss Flannery. I'm always happy to help out," the man said.

"Please, Mr. Briney, don't call me that," she said. "I'm trying not to draw attention to myself. Either call me by my last name, or call me Asuna."

"Right, right. My apologies, Asuna," Mr. Briney answered. "As I was saying, I don't mind making the journey. It'd be nice to get somewhere away from here for awhile. If you'd like, we can leave right away."

"Thanks, Mr. Briney. I'd like that," Flannery said. "You haven't heard from anyone else, have you?"

"Only Norman, but even then he was on the run," the old man replied. "Drake tried fighting back, staged a right nasty scene, but even he wasn't a match for them. S'pose he's gotten older than he'd like to admit, not that I have room to talk."

"Oh, don't start that, now. You've got to remember, I only got my job three years ago. I seem to remember hearing about you trying to take off after Team Aqua when they stole your Wingull," Flannery said, cracking a faint smile.

"Yes, yes, well… Alright, you win. Let's hurry up and get to the boat, though. We can take off while the contest crowd is disbanding," Briney said.

Flannery nodded, walking casually away from the assembled crowd, acting as though she were simply trying to beat the foot traffic back to the docks. _I just hope there's someone in Johto who can help me. Otherwise, this trip will be for nothing_…


	7. Chapter 7

**[7]**

**-Parts Unknown-**

"Have you seen the results for yourself?"

"Of course I have, Greevil. Spectacular devices, these Snag Machines."

"Well, you have Team Snagem to thank for them. Not that you'll have luck finding them, the lot of them are in prison still. But the point is, Lord Ghetsis, that with the delivery of the devices, I hope you understand that we are fully dedicated to your cause," Greevil said.

"Oh, I understand that. Giovanni does as well," Ghetsis answered. "And we both appreciate your commitment. We hope you'll also maintain order in the Orre Region for us."

"Naturally. With the disappearance of the Champion…"

"Disappearance?"

"Not of our design. When we ordered the dissolution of the Pokémon League, he disappeared. We have sentries stationed everywhere in the Orre Region looking for him," Greevil said. Waving the comment away, he added, "It's of no consequence anyway. There's no way he could defeat us now anyway. Our organization is spread too far."

"That's what Giovanni thought, too," Ghetsis replied. "Don't forget about that."

"Oh, I won't forget," Greevil said. "I've spent two years in prison thinking about everything that went wrong. We'll find him and destroy him."

"Fair enough. Carry on," Ghetsis said. "Keep me apprised."

**-Johto; Olivine City-**

Flannery stepped off the small boat in Olivine's port and looked around. Not much had changed over the years. She suspected that there was still the same Ampharos as the top of the lighthouse. The one disturbing change, though, was that most of the shops had been closed. When she inspected one of them, she read a sign noting they'd been closed as part of an operation by the International Police due to potential mistreatment and smuggling of Pokémon.

Shaking her head, she continued walking up the pier toward the mainland. She began to get an uneasy feeling, but tried to shrug it off as paranoia. After all, with the clothes she now wore, and the alterations she'd made to her hair, she shouldn't be recognizable. Still, she reached her hands in her jacket pockets, feeling through the material to confirm that her Poké Balls were still hidden in the lining.

Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, the red-haired girl continued her journey into the mainland, up toward the small farm that lay just outside of town. Along the way, she heard the cries of many wild Pokémon, but there were no other people out and about. The idea of it was unnerving.

It was not a surprise, therefore, when she jumped as someone said, "You're going the wrong way." Reeling around, Flannery tried to locate the source of the voice, but to no avail.

"What are you talking about?" she finally cried out to the empty air.

"Just what I said. You're going the wrong way," the voice said again. The air seemed to change its scent, and a woman popped into existence right in front of Flannery, making her flinch again. "You're heading toward Ecruteak City. You need to be going to Cianwood City."

Flannery finally caught her breath when she looked at the woman. Then she punched her in the arm. "Dammit, Sabrina, you scared the hell out of me," she said.

Sabrina smiled. "Sorry about that. I've been waiting for you to get to Johto. I knew we were going to have to go on the run, and I knew I'd meet you here at Olivine City."

"It's alright, just… do you have any idea what I've been through?" she asked. Seeing the look on Sabrina's face, she added, "Never mind. It was a stupid question. So, why am I going to Cianwood City?"

"To meet the others that are gathering," Sabrina answered.

"Others? What others?"

"The other Gym Leaders. Champions of other regions," Sabrina replied. "The ones who managed to escape and want to fight back. Two of them are in Cianwood City waiting for us."

"Alright, then. Cianwood City it is," Flannery said. "Though I have to ask, do you know who it is we're meeting?"

"That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you. Not because I don't know, but because you'll want to see for yourself. Only then will you have faith in what we're doing," Sabrina answered.

The cryptic response did little to soothe the redhead's nerves, but she went along with it. "So explain this to me," she said, glancing at the other Gym Leader. "Why is it you had to leave your Gym? Surely you weren't in any real danger."

"I wasn't," Sabrina said. "I was actually having fun with Team Rocket for awhile, teleporting them down the street, then to the next street, then to the guard shack. But I knew I had to leave, to help everyone find each other and start the resistance on its path."

"Team Rocket? Out in the open?" Flannery asked, surprised. "I thought they disbanded?"

"They did. They've been reorganized again, under Giovanni this time," Sabrina answered. "They're part of a coalition taking the world by storm, removing the Gym Leaders and Champions from their posts and powers. I believe Team Magma came after you in your own Gym, did they not?"

"They did," Flannery answered, frowning. The idea of being expelled from her own Gym was still abhorrent to her, but going back now would be a mistake. "They can't be allowed to continue this. Who else is part of this coalition?"

"Let's see… I believe the full list comprises six teams, including teams Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, and then Cipher," Sabrina answered.

"Cipher? I've never heard of them before," the redhead said.

"They're an organization from the Orre Region. About the same time Team Rocket disbanded the first time, they were actively stealing Pokémon from trainers and turning them into heartless monsters, increasing their powers far beyond the norm in the process," Sabrina said. "They were aided by a dummy organization called Team Snagem, of all things, but their plans fell apart when one of Snagem's members betrayed them. He stole their machine and used it to recover all the stolen Pokémon, restoring them to their natural state."

"Wait, but that means…"

"If Cipher is involved, Pokémon will be stolen and transformed once again, but on a much wider scale this time," Sabrina said. "And if that happens, not even I know what can save them."


	8. Chapter 8

**[8]**

**-Johto; Safari Zone-**

"It was nice of Baoba to let us hide out in here," Cynthia said, gazing out the window at the tall, grassy plain.

"True, but I'm sure Chuck muscled him into it at least a little," Pierce answered, leaning back against a table. The two of them had arrived in Cianwood City a day earlier, and had been safely ensconced in the Safari Zone ever since. Initially Baoba, the Warden, had resisted, afraid that they were poachers. Once Chuck saw them, however, and explained who they were, the warden seemed slightly more gracious.

For his part, they'd learned, Chuck had been barricaded in the Gym. Team Rocket had tried to force him to abandon it, but he hadn't heard the demand, since he spent his time sitting under a waterfall until someone disturbed him. The other trainers in the Gym, all blackbelts, opted to force Team Rocket into leaving, rather than shutting off the flow of water.

Baoba had seen to it that the rest house in the Safari Zone was well stocked with food for both of them, and promised more would be sent if needed. They'd be able to hide out here as long as they needed, which was fortuitous.

"You're probably right," Cynthia said, smiling. "You know, these people are lucky. The Safari Zone here is so much nicer than it is in Sinnoh."

"You mean your giant swamp?" Pierce asked.

"The Great Marsh," Cynthia corrected.

"Swamp, marsh, same thing. You guys are lucky to have a Safari Zone at all. Orre's nothing but desert, remember?" Pierce said, smirking slightly.

"This is true," the woman replied. "Still, from what I hear, more oases are developing. Wild Pokémon have become more numerous there, and then there are the ones native to rocky environments."

"I guess you're right. Still, though, no major attractions to be had," Pierce said. "Johto and Sinnoh both have their respective Battle Frontiers, Hoenn has a Battle Tower, and Unova not only has the Black Tower, but the Pokémon World Tournament as well."

"Keep in mind, though, that both of those were only built within the last two years," Cynthia said. "And besides, doesn't the Orre Region boast Mt. Battle? One hundred straight battles from the base all the way to the top of a volcano?"

"Yeah, and the volcano is what's so off-putting about it," Pierce answered. "Not many people want to fall off the edge. Granted, the platforms are rather large, and there are plenty of safety features installed, including Abra placed throughout the whole facility."

"You also have the Realgam Tower, which boasts some of the most impressive Pokémon simulation technology in the world," Cynthia said. "Not to mention one of the most beautiful stadiums I've ever seen."

"That was built by Cipher, an organization dedicated to stealing Pokémon from trainers and closing off their hearts," Pierce pointed out.

"Fair enough. But the point is, you can't sell yourself short. The Orre Region really does have a lot to offer. Surely you've seen the rise in tourism yourself over the past few years," Cynthia said.

"Yeah, especially since the Pokémon League was instituted last year," Pierce said. "Anyway, we should think about trying to find others that are out there. We won't be able to reclaim any of our Leagues with just the two of us."

"Are you sure about that?" Cynthia asked with a sly grin. "I know you, and if you thought you could, you'd take on all of them yourself."

"Come on, Cynthia. My ego is not that bad," he said, giving her an annoyed look.

"Alright, alright. You're right, though. We do need to start tracking down other leaders," Cynthia replied. "We should probably start here in Joh-" She was cut off by the phone ringing. Turning on the speakerphone, she said, "Hello?"

"Cynthia, Pierce, good," Baoba's voice answered. "I just wanted to let you know, there are two people out here who want to come in. One of them is Sabrina, Saffron City's Gym Leader. The other is calling herself Asuna."

"Alright. Thank you. We'll meet them in Area 4," Cynthia said. Baoba hung up, and Cynthia turned to Pierce. "Looks like a couple of them have decided to come to us."

Sabrina led Flannery into the Safari Zone, following the directions toward Area 4, as Baoba had instructed. Flannery had some slight misgivings about the old man, but Sabrina insisted they go in. There wasn't another human in sight, only tall grass and Pokémon.

Finally, though, they approached a pair of figures. Both were dressed in black. The woman had long, blonde hair, and the man wore a black fedora. At the sight of the black clothing, particularly the man's trench coat, she was gripped by fear.

"Sabrina, we have to get out of here," Flannery said, gripping the other woman's arm. The two people came closer, but Sabrina stood her ground.

"No. We should stay here. This is where you are meant to be," the psychic said.

"Where I'm meant to be…?" Flannery felt her pulse quicken. Who were these people, and what did they want?

The two stopped and looked at them, before the blond woman spoke. "Sabrina. It's good to see you," she said, smiling. "Who's this you've brought with you?"

"A fellow Gym Leader. This is Flannery Moore, of Lavaridge Town in Hoenn," the psychic answered. "Flannery, this is Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh region, and Pierce, the Champion of the Orre region."

Two Champions. That was what the secrecy was for. If their enemies had found out about this, there would've been no end of trouble. "It's good to meet you both," she said, offering her hand. Cynthia shook it with a warm smile.

When she offered her hand to Pierce, he shook it with a smile as Cynthia did, but there was something slightly different about his attitude. He seemed more amused about things than she did, and there was something in his eyes she couldn't quite identify.

"Glad you two made it here safely," Cynthia said. "Here, we're using the rest house in this area as our base for now. There's plenty of room, plus food if you're hungry."

Sabrina nodded and fell in step beside Cynthia, while Flannery trailed slightly behind Pierce. "So… Pierce. Is that your first name, or your last?" the redhead asked shyly.

Pierce shrugged. "It's what I go by. It's what people have called me for awhile, ever since I started the Pokémon League in Orre," he answered. "So you're a Fire trainer, yeah?"

"Well, yes," Flannery answered. "But how did you know?"

"Something about you. Your attitude. Starting off shy, like a wick trying to resist being lit," he said. Seeing Flannery's look of wonder, he laughed and added, "or something like that. No, the reason I know you're a Fire trainer is because I've seen you in action before."

"You have? When?" she asked.

"The Pokémon World Tournament, in Unova. I watched a little bit of it, including one of your matches. You handle yourself surprisingly well," he said.

"Wait, you mean you recognize me?" Flannery asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Well, yeah. It wasn't easy, what with your hair being gone and you dressing in military fatigues," Pierce answered. "But once Sabrina told us your name, the memory of the old you came back."

"I see," she said, calming down slightly. "I was worried that if you recognized me, someone else might have as well."

"No, it's doubtful. You did very well disguising yourself," Pierce said, frowning. "I can't even begin to imagine what must've happened in order to force you to alter your appearance so radically, though."

"It's a long story, and one I really don't feel like going into right now," the redhead answered. "Say, is it okay if we let our Pokémon out here? I mean, this is a sanctuary for Pokémon."

"I don't see why not," Pierce answered. "But we might want to check with Cynthia first. She seems to have her own idea about how to do things."

"Yes, she's been that way for awhile, from what I understand," Flannery said, smiling slightly. "Anyway, I hope we get to soon. It's been too long since my Pokémon have been free to roam."

"I can imagine. We need to be careful, though, or else they may not be free ever again."


	9. Chapter 9

**[9]**

**-Hoenn; Petalburg City-**

"Come on, Norman, it's time for you to go," one of the thugs outside said. "You've seen the decree, and you're the last Gym Leader left. You can't hold out on us forever."

"That's certainly true," Norman muttered. "Not with the way you guys are trying to pound down the door. Of course, even if you get in, there's still one little problem." Norman flipped a switch on the wall behind him, and several walls lowered into place, creating a myriad of rooms.

Turning to the brown-haired girl beside him, he said, "Now May, I want you to go home to Littleroot Town. Hide there as long as you can. I have to go out and find what happened to the other Leaders."

May nodded, but frowned. "And if you get captured? What am I supposed to do then?"

"Just know that I'll be back," Norman said. "Sooner or later, I'll find a way out and come home to you and your mom. Now go, down the trapdoor." He pressed another button, and the wood floor slid aside to reveal a staircase heading underneath the Gym.

May went down the trapdoor reluctantly, and Norman pressed the switch again to close it. Moments later, the mob that had been trying to break down the front door to his Gym barged into his final stronghold.

"There you are, Norman. It's time for you to come with us," one of them said. "Archie's been waiting for you for a long time."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't come with you," the Gym Leader answered. "I made a promise to my daughter, and I can't break that."

"It looks like you're going to have to, because we're taking you with us one way or another," the thug said. He began to pull a Poké Ball from his belt, but Norman was faster on the draw.

"Exploud, let's go! Use Screech!" he shouted, throwing his own ball. A large, purple Pokémon appeared, and almost immediately emitted an ear-splitting scream. The thugs clapped their hands over their ears, dropping to their knees one by one. Norman recalled the Pokémon, moving back along the wall to the window and hoisting himself out of it. _I'm glad May got away before these goons got here,_ he thought as he retreated into the Petalburg Forest. _Now comes the real question, can _I_ get away?_

**-Kanto; Viridian City-**

The door to Viridian City's Gym opened without resistance. The lights inside were off, and there was no obvious sign the Gym had been inhabited in a few months. "How pathetic. It's bad enough I have to abandon the Gym, but no one has the good graces to run it in my absence."

"That's not exactly true, Giovanni, sir. There were reports that Professor Oak's grandson had taken over as the Gym Leader here."

"That's almost even worse. To think that a relative of that doddering old fool would dare set foot in here," Giovanni said, finding a lightswitch and hitting it. "And where are all the traps I had set up? The warp panels? Have they all been removed?"

"Apparently, the real challenge was finding the Leader in the first place," the other man said. "He was away from the Gym so often, it was difficult for trainers to find him."

"What a shame. Apparently Professor Oak never bothered teaching his grandson the responsibility of being a Gym Leader," Giovanni said. "No matter. The Gym isn't what's important right now. Even if he's removed all the traps and warp panels, there's no way that child found the secret entrance in here." He walked to the back of the Gym and pressed a switch, opening a panel in the wall. He pressed his hand on a small switch. The wall slid aside, and Giovanni turned back to the person who had accompanied him. "Welcome, Lord Ghetsis, to the headquarters of Team Rocket."

"Impressive, Giovanni. To think that all this time, the headquarters of Team Rocket was hidden right here in the Viridian City Gym." Ghetsis said.

"Naturally. Oh, it was difficult to keep hidden, to be sure, but it was well worth it. All of Team Rocket's top-secret research is hidden here, including information on our cloning technology," Giovanni answered. "With this information, we'll be sure to put an even tighter hold on the world, and effectively quash any resistance offered to us."

"Indeed. With the information I still have from Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, and any other mythical Pokémon our associates have managed to encounter, soon we will have an army of invincible Pokémon. Nothing can stand against us," Ghetsis said, his red artificial eye flashing maliciously.

**-Johto; Safari Zone-**

"So, who all exactly is going to be with us? Or are you the only ones?" Cynthia asked, once the four of them returned to the rest house. "I mean, I haven't heard from anyone else since I had to leave. I tried contacting Steven Stone again, but I haven't been able to reach him."

Sabrina shook her head. "Many of us have been captured, but a precious few are in hiding," she said. "Flannery, myself, two more from Sinnoh, and one more from Hoenn are all that I know of right now."

"I see. So none of the Johto leaders are available, save for Chuck. And none of my people have been freed yet," Pierce said, frowning.

"Who's the other Hoenn leader?" Flannery asked.

"Norman, from Petalburg City," Sabrina answered. "He is on his way to meet Mr. Briney, according to the instructions I sent to him."

"Instructions you sent him?" Cynthia asked. "What instructions were those?"

"Instructions to meet us here, so we could begin fighting back against the coalition," Sabrina answered. "Flint and Volkner have instructions as well, to remain in Sinnoh and distract Team Galactic by any means necessary."

Cynthia smirked in amusement. "I can only imagine their reaction to that. Volkner's probably having a field day thinking of horrible things to do to them."

"Still, though, that's seven of us against the most evil organizations in the world," Flannery said. "How's that going to help?"

"In a couple of ways," Pierce said. "First, if Volkner and Flint are causing chaos in Sinnoh, that'll keep Team Galactic busy for a while, and their attention will be divided. Second, there may only be seven of us, but we're also Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champions from all over the world. We're seven of the most powerful trainers in the world. Of course, I'd feel a lot better if there were a few more of us, particularly from Unova, but I suppose there's only so much we can be given."

Sabrina nodded slowly. "It is true the odds in our favor are exceptionally slim. Not even I am fully aware of the end result of this campaign. I only know that if we do nothing, the world as we know it will end."


	10. Chapter 10

**[10]**

**-Parts Unknown-**

"Have you established the location of Team Rocket Headquarters?"

"Of course, Cyrus. It still exists, right underneath the Viridian City Gym. Everything is set."

"Excellent. I'll transfer you the data on Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina as soon as I'm able."

"As soon as you're able? Are you having difficulties?"

"We've had some issues getting into our headquarters. It seems that someone childishly fused the doors shut with a Fire-type Pokémon. It's of no consequence."

"Good. Hopefully you'll be able to catch these vandals quickly and dispose of them."

"I look forward to it. I have an idea as to who is behind it, because Flint is the only member of the Elite Four we have not found. Likewise, Volkner is the only Gym Leader we have not accounted for. It's too much of a coincidence to believe these two could not be behind it."

"Ah, so then this happened recently."

"Quite recently. Within the past week or so, I'd say. We're in the process of getting the buildings reopened, but they knew what they were doing."

"I imagine you must be quite angry at this inconvenience."

"Ghetsis, you know as well as anyone I am not predisposed to crude human emotion. No, it is merely a childish prank. The two will be captured and dealt with accordingly."

"Excellent. Send the data as soon as you've recovered it."

"Of course."

**[Hoenn; Petalburg Forest]**

"So, Norman. You've managed to escape as well? That's good, that's very good," Mr. Briney said, sipping from his tea.

"Yes, it was a near thing, but I managed to elude Team Aqua just long enough to get myself and my daughter to safety," Norman answered. "Why, who else has gotten free?"

"Flannery. I escorted her to Johto personally. I actually just returned from there," Briney answered.

"Good, that's good. Why Johto, though? Surely there were places here to go into hiding?" Norman asked.

"I'm not sure. I suppose she just wanted to get far away, somewhere she couldn't possibly be recognized. Not that she would be anyway, she'd disguised herself pretty thoroughly," the old man replied.

"I see. I had to make sure. I'd received instructions to travel to Johto's Safari Zone. I wasn't sure if she'd received the same instructions," Norman said.

"I see. Well, she didn't have any instructions that I was aware of. She just asked to go off the grid, and Johto seemed as good a place as any to go," Briney answered. "Just say the word, though, and we can be on our way too."

Norman thought about it for a few moments. Every indication was that this was a trap, and he was being lured in to make sure he could not fight back. On the other hand, if it were legitimate, he had to entertain the possibility that he would be safe. "Alright, then. Let's go to Johto," he said at last.

"Alright, Johto it is. Anchors aweigh! Peeko, we're setting sail, my darling!" Briney shouted enthusiastically.

Norman couldn't help but smile at the old man's energy. He'd known for years that Briney loved the sea more than anything, and took his Wingull with him no matter where he went. He had to question the wisdom of it, of course, given the way trainers were persecuted lately, but he was sure the old man had a way around any thorough investigation.

The real trouble, of course, would come when someone realized he was ferrying trainers, since the International Police had begun cracking down on transportation as well. If Briney was caught transporting trainers and their Pokémon, he was certain to lose his ship, at the very least.

Still, it was a risk Briney was willing to take, and for now there was no other way for Norman to get to where he needed to be. He just hoped it didn't cause any trouble.

**-Johto; Safari Zone-**

Whenever Pierce looked up at the stars, he felt peaceful, no matter what else happened to be going on at the time. Even now, knowing he was on the run, a wanted fugitive, he lay on his back in the middle of the Safari Zone, looking at the stars, and felt comfortable.

Beside him, an Umbreon stood careful watch, its eyes slowly peering around for anything approaching. It was slightly unusual, since its normally yellow rings were instead a light blue, its eyes an amber shade. Pierce had found it as an Eevee, one of the Pokémon that had been captured by Cipher, but kept in its natural state, probably because of the beautiful silver fur it had had. Since then, the two had been quite close, and it was as fiercely loyal to him as his Arcanine was.

Of course, it had quite a sense of humor, and tended to display its loyalty in rather energetic ways. It was only natural, therefore, when it trotted to Pierce's side and bit his arm, rousing him from his restful state.

"You trying to break skin or something? You know I'm laying on my coat," the trainer said, glaring at the Pokémon, but smirking just the same. The Umbreon looked into his eyes, then turned its attention back toward the house where the three women were resting.

Well, two of them, anyway. Flannery had wandered outside, still dressed in the military-style pants and a tank top, but without the jacket and hat, though her expression made it clear she wished she'd remembered it. She looked up at the sky briefly, then down at Pierce. Walking slowly over toward him, she said quietly, "Oh, wow, a shiny Umbreon. Is it yours?"

Pierce smiled and nodded. "Yup, he's mine. His name is Dusk," the Champion answered. "He likes being out when the sky is clear like this. For some reason, he also insists on keeping an eye on me."

Flannery smiled as well, and knelt down to pet the Umbreon. He softly purred in delight, and moved closer to her, demanding her full attention now that he had it.

"Oh, now you've done it. He won't let you stop until he's satisfied," Pierce said. "I've fallen into that trap many times."

Dusk opened his eyes and shot a reproving glare at his trainer, and Flannery laughed softly. "He certainly seems to have his own thoughts about that," she said. Sighing, she looked up at the stars again. "It's amazing how we seem to have the same stars here as in Hoenn."

"Same as Orre, too," Pierce said. "I actually thought the regions were more spread apart when I was little, given how few visitors I used to see. Then I realized exactly how insular Orre was, mostly because of the climate."

"The climate?" Flannery asked. "Why, what's it like?"

"Mostly desert, to be honest, though there are a few towns along the coast, and a few green villages near Mount Battle," Pierce answered. "There are a few oases cropping up here and there, and so more wild Pokémon are coming out, which draws in more trainers."

"I see. It sounds like a nice, warm place," Flannery said. "You know, of course, that I'm from Lavaridge Town, which is at the foot of Mount Chimney, so you can understand why I'm a little bit chilly tonight."

Pierce stood and picked up his own trenchcoat, dusting it off as best he could, before offering it to the Gym Leader. "Here, this should keep you warm," he said.

"Oh, I couldn't," Flannery said.

"Sure you can. It works like a normal jacket. Your left arm goes in here, and your right arm in the opposite side," he said, smirking.

Flannery smiled at him, and finally gave in, putting the coat on. "Thank you," she said. "I have to wonder, though, is this what you normally wear? I mean, it seems a bit much, since you live out in the desert."

"Yes, but you'd be surprised how much the desert cools off at night," Pierce said. "Besides, I live in Agate Village, which is near a waterfall. It's actually one of the cooler places in all of Orre."

"I see," she said. Looking at Dusk, she frowned. "Pierce, do you think we can actually do it? I mean, do you think we can win and let people keep their Pokémon?"

"I have to believe we can," Pierce answered. "Not just because I'm the Champion of the Orre League, but because I know more than anyone how much people and Pokémon rely on one another. It took kindhearted people to rescue the Pokémon Cipher stole a few years ago, and it took those same people to help the Pokémon return to their original state. On the other hand, those people needed Pokémon of their own, both to help them retrieve and restore the ones who were stolen. It's a continuous cycle. People and Pokémon belong together, so long as they're kindhearted and doing what's right."

"Oh," Flannery said, looking at the ground. "I was just wondering. I know you seem to have a lot of faith in what we're trying to do."

"Of course," Pierce said. "I know most of the players involved in our cause, and I know what each of us has accomplished. I'm not saying it to be egotistical, but I have to have faith in what we're doing, both for myself and my partners. Not just the Pokémon, but the people as well."

"I think I understand," Flannery said. "I need to try to have more faith as well. It just bothers me, because I was forced to leave my Gym, and I'd just gotten comfortable in my role as a Gym Leader. I tried so hard to be someone else, and when I had finally realized I just had to be myself… well, now I have to be someone else again. I'm not a Gym Leader anymore."

"You'll always be a Gym Leader, no matter what. Even when Justy became one of my Elite Four, people still knew him as the Leader of the only Gym in Orre," Pierce said. "It's like a class all its own. You'll never not be part of it."

"I hope you're right," Flannery said. "And I hope we do win this. I don't want to abandon everything I've gained my whole life, nor do I want to lose my friends."

"You won't," Pierce said. "We're not going to let that happen, I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

**[11]**

**-Sinnoh; Veilstone City-**

"Come on, Flint, it's time to go!" Volkner shouted.

"Nah, I'm having too much fun here," Flint answered with a smirk. "Infernape, let's turn things up with Flare Blitz!" The fiery ape-like Pokémon's body began to burn as it charged its opponent, an unfortunate member of Team Galactic. The grunt's uniform caught fire, and he began screaming and flailing on the ground.

"Flint, now!" Volkner shouted again.

"Not until they tell me where Buck is," Flint shouted back. "Infernape, Mach Punch!"

Before Flint's Pokémon could act, Volkner called out, "Electivire, stop it with Thunder Wave!" His own large, yellow Pokémon released a jolt of electricity that struck Infernape down.

"What the hell are you doing?" Flint said, regarding Volkner with an incredulous look.

"Stopping you," Volkner answered. "You know we don't attack other trainers, even if they are scum like this. Besides, he can't tell you where your brother is if he's dead. Use your head for once, will you? Recall your Pokémon and let's get out of here, right now."

"But what about-"

"Forget it," Volkner said. "We've done what we can. Galactic's operations in this city are going to be out for a while, but we have to leave before their reinforcements get here."

"I can't just leave without Buck, though," Flint said, his voice betraying a feeling of defeat.

"We'll find him later. You know Cyrus won't harm him until he captures you. He's just using Buck as bait to get to you, but you can't let him," Volkner said. "We've got to do what we can to make sure Team Galactic stays off-balance. That'll make it easier for the rest of us to fight back. Now let's go. Everyone's counting on us."

The two of them made a hasty retreat, and moments later, a group of Team Galactic grunts burst into the room, beginning to survey both the damage to their warehouse and the body of their compatriot.

**-Parts Unknown-**

"Do you have the footage from the warehouse?" Cyrus asked.

"Of course. It seems you were correct about the identities of our assailants," the smaller man answered. "And of course, using that young upstart as bait worked like a charm. The two of them are losing cohesion as a team. While one is concerned only about his brother, the other worries about completing their mission. With their attention divided, they can't last long."

"Then I suppose it's time I had them captured and brought in," Cyrus said. "They've been thorns in my side for far too long. See to it, Charon."

"At once, sir," Charon answered, turning on his heel and leaving.

Cyrus turned his back to the door and looked up at the display behind him. He pressed a button on the arm of his chair, shifting the display to that of Ghetsis. "Lord Ghetsis, we've made progress. We've managed to identify our mystery saboteurs. Charon is preparing to capture them as we speak."

"Excellent. I must admit I'm surprised you've identified them so soon," Ghetsis said.

"We've been concentrating our forces on sites that had not yet been disturbed. The addition of personnel has been disruptive to their plans, and they've become less cautious in their strikes. We were able to identify them from surveillance footage. We've also captured a sibling of one of the saboteurs."

"Very good. As much as I know you'd enjoy dealing with him personally, I believe you should bring him to Kanto. Some of Giovanni's scientists have been dying for a chance to improve on Cipher's Shadow Pokémon designs. It's possible we may be able to use this indoctrination process on humans, perhaps bring some of them around to our way of thinking."

"If you insist," Cyrus answered. "Personally, I feel it's a waste of time. Humans are constantly fettered by useless emotional attachments to others. It's far too much of a hassle to worry with, or else Team Galactic would've pursued it by now."

"Yes, yes, of course," Ghetsis said irritably. "I'd forgotten about your views on that. Still, the idea has merit. I'm only trying to aid Giovanni's research. This will further our collaborative goals anyway. Send me the boy regardless. It will be easier for you to deal with your pest problem if they try to travel too far for the bait."

"Very well," Cyrus said. He pressed another button, switching from his connection to Ghetsis to a display with a red-haired woman wearing the Galactic uniform. "Mars, prepare the boy for transport. Ghetsis wants him taken to Kanto at once."

"Yes, Master Cyrus," Mars answered. "Also, Charon was here recently. He mentioned you'd discovered the identities of our saboteurs?"

"Yes. They are Volkner, formerly of the Sunyshore Gym, and Flint, formerly of the Elite Four. The boy we have in custody is Flint's brother," Cyrus said. "Ghetsis believes that transferring him to Kanto will bring the two of them out of hiding."

"Yes, sir. I'll begin preparations to send him to Viridian City and to capture Volkner and Flint," Mars said.

Cyrus terminated the communication, then sat back in his chair, his fingers falling together in a steeple. Finally, things were beginning to come together. He would be able to accomplish his plans in short order, and leave these emotional beings to their own petty desires.

**-Johto; Safari Zone-**

"Norman's on his way here. His ship just docked in Olivine City," Cynthia said.

"Good," Pierce said. "We should be thinking about what to do first. We're not doing any good sitting around on our hands."

"We have to have patience," Cynthia countered. "There's a specific order in which we have to do things. First, we have to determine from where the enemy is operating. Then we have to prioritize targets by what they're trying to accomplish. Then we have to make surgical strikes against those targets. There are only seven of us in total right now. Seven of us can make a difference against this coalition, but only if we're smart about it."

"Alright, so how do we find out where the enemy is?" Flannery asked. She and the others looked at Sabrina.

The psychic smiled, saying, "I can only reveal so much at a time, because I am only shown so much at a time. I cannot say where every single enemy base is right now, because I don't know myself. I only know that we need to start here, in Johto."

"Why here? There's not much here anymore that isn't secured by someone else," Pierce said. "Goldenrod Police have the radio tower and magnet train under lock and key. I can't imagine anything of consequence at the National Park."

"There's an old shop in Mahogany Town, near the Lake of Rage," Sabrina said. "Two years ago, Team Rocket used it as a base to test a brainwashing signal. It evolved all the Magikarp in the lake into Gyarados and sent them into a frenzy. The transmitter has been destroyed, but the base may still be in operation."

"Looks like that's where we start, then," Pierce said.

"While we're there, we should try to compile a list of other bases the enemy may be using," Cynthia said. "It's a long shot, but if we can get such a list, it'd help us greatly, as well as give us a clue as to what the coalition is planning."

"We'll be hard-pressed to find it, unless we happen to steal a password from some unsuspecting guard," Pierce said. "Knowing we're out here, they're sure to be keeping their security fairly tight."

"This is true," Cynthia said. The phone rang, and the four of them looked at it. Cynthia walked over to it and picked it up, saying, "Hello?"

"Cynthia, it's Norman. I'm down the road in Cianwood. You guys are in the Safari Zone, I hear?" said a male voice on the other end.

"Yes, Norman, in Area 4," Cynthia answered. "We're in a rest house in the center of the zone. We'll come out and meet you at the gate."

"Alright. Time is short, though," Norman said. "From what I hear, we have a new problem."

"What is it?" Cynthia asked.

"I can't say over the phone," Norman replied. "Just meet me at the gate. If we have to, we'll leave immediately and I'll explain when I see you."

Cynthia hung up the phone, and turned to the others. "Looks like we're getting started a little sooner than we expected," she said, frowning. "Norman's going to meet us at the Safari Zone gate. He says something's happened."

"Let's go, then," Pierce said, getting to his feet. "We have a world to save."


	12. Chapter 12

**[12]**

**Johto; Safari Zone-**

When they found Norman, he was nearly out of breath, having run the path from Cianwood City to the Safari Zone gate. Pierce helped him up and led him back to the rest house, while Cynthia made him a glass of water. "Sorry," he muttered when he could speak. "Didn't want any delay."

"What happened?" Cynthia asked. "What was so important?"

"Saw on the news," Norman said, still panting slightly. "Team Galactic took a prisoner. Bringing him to Kanto, to Viridian City. Says it's to International Police Headquarters, but really it's-"

"Team Rocket headquarters," Sabrina finished for him.

"Did they say who this prisoner is?" Pierce asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Buck," Norman said. "Flint's brother."

"Shit," Cynthia said. "If they have Flint's brother, that means they know about Flint and Volkner being loose in Sinnoh. They're trying to smoke them out."

"Will they come out of hiding?" Flannery asked.

"Flint will certainly try, but Volkner has a cooler head. If he can keep control of Flint, they can stay safe," Cynthia answered. "If not, they'll be next in line."

"Wonder why they decided to bring Buck to Kanto," Pierce said.

"I have no idea. But it's important we get out there and get him. We still need to work on the Johto lead as well," Cynthia answered.

"We could split up," Pierce suggested. "Two of us go get Buck, the other three head to Mahogany Town."

"That could work," Norman said slowly. "I want to be one of the ones going after Buck, though."

"No, you need to rest, and going from here to Kanto is a huge journey," Cynthia said. "I'll go get him."

"I'll go with you," Sabrina said. "I'll be able to teleport us out once I know how we're getting in. It'll reduce our chances of being caught."

"Sounds good. Norman, if you absolutely have to participate, you can go with Pierce and Flannery to Mahogany Town," Cynthia said.

"Why, what's in Mahogany Town?" Norman asked.

"There's an old base that Team Rocket used to use to brainwash Pokémon at Lake of Rage. The transmitter's gone, from what we hear, but the base might still be there," Pierce said. "We were going to go see if we could get into their computers and pull any information on their other bases, or what they have planned."

"Makes sense. Fortunately, I have just the Pokémon to help with that," Norman said. "Getting it into the system will be tricky, but it should help out quite a bit."

"So, wait, you have a Porygon?" Cynthia asked. "I didn't realize you'd gotten one of those."

"I was surprised by it myself, honestly, but the last time I was at the Pokémon World Tournament, someone traded me one. They said it'd be perfect for me," Norman said. "To tell the truth, it really is an interesting Pokémon. I'm still not sure about half of its powers, but May tells me it can enter computers and manipulate programming."

"Well, that's it, then," Pierce said. "We can slip the Porygon into Team Rocket's system, and it can tell us what we need to know. Or just wipe out the data altogether so they have no idea what to do."

"No, that's a bad idea," Cynthia said. "If we delete the data, it might set off an alarm, and they'd be on us almost instantly. Besides, they may have a copy backed up somewhere else, so deleting it would do no good."

"That sucks," Pierce said, frowning. "So what're we supposed to do once we have what we need?"

"Just leave. Try to make it seem like you were never there," Cynthia said. "It'll take no end of precision and stealth. Try not to show off too much."

"Next question," Pierce said, giving Cynthia an annoyed look. "How do we get the Porygon in? Once it's in, how do we guide it to where we need to go? Once we have what we need, how do we get it out?"

"The Pokémon Storage System," Cynthia answered. "When we all leave, we'll go to Goldenrod City first. Bill lives there, and he can give us the access we need, even if the Pokémon Center is locked up. Since the International Police are watching the system, we can bet they'll link it directly to the coalition's computers. Porygon can go in, and if it ends up in Team Rocket's system, it's no problem, because for all we know, Team Rocket is using the system to steal Pokémon anyway. We can pull it back out the same way."

"Fair enough," Pierce said. "I'm just hoping Bill's house isn't being watched as carefully as anyone else is."

"Probably not," Cynthia said. "He's somewhat of an expert on Pokémon, but he's not a registered trainer. Anytime a Pokémon shows up, he gives it away."

"Well, that's good, at least," Norman said. "So when are we leaving?"

"After you've had a chance to rest a little more," Cynthia said. "We'll probably do better heading out this evening, so we can arrive at our destinations at nightfall."

"Because nothing bad ever, ever happens at night," Flannery muttered.

**-Kanto; Viridian City-**

"Mister President, the reports you asked for," one of the aides said.

"Excellent," Giovanni answered. "And the bill that was drafted?"

"It's in there as well," the aide replied. "Once it's signed, I'll take it back to the committee for you."

"Very well. That is all," Giovanni said. The aide departed, and Giovanni looked through the files he'd been handed. Cipher's notes on the Shadow Pokémon process, their information about the Snag machines used by their previous associates, Team Rocket's own cloning technology… Ghetsis had done very well assembling it all for him.

The mysterious Unovan mastermind had even gone so far as to appropriate Aqua and Magma's notes on the Hoenn legends. Cyrus was still trying to access his own warehouse, so information on the Sinnoh legends would still be slow in coming. Nonetheless, he had a treasure trove of information, and that information did not need to fall into anyone else's hands. In the end, it could only serve Team Rocket.

Which was why, as soon as his help was no longer needed, Giovanni planned to have Ghetsis killed. On that day, Giovanni would truly be unstoppable.

**-Sinnoh; Veilstone City-**

"Master Cyrus, we've delivered the boy to Giovanni, as you instructed," Mars said, bowing.

"Good. Then I trust there was no problem during transport?" Cyrus asked.

"No, sir, not worth mentioning," Mars answered.

"Not worth mentioning," Cyrus repeated. "Not worth mentioning. So I suppose a phone call to Jubilife Television was not placed, and their reporters were never told of our intentions to take him to Kanto."

"Well, no," Mars said, faltering. "I didn't think it worth mentioning. I mean, we didn't know who the phone call was to. We caught him in the middle of the call. We asked him who it was, he said he was calling his brother."

"And you believed him?" Cyrus asked. "You didn't press the matter further? You didn't torture him for the truth?"

"Well… Well no, Master," Mars answered. "The assumption was that Giovanni wanted the boy delivered unharmed."

"Were you expressly told that? Did you receive instructions from Giovanni on that matter?" Cyrus asked.

"No, Master-"

"Then do not make assumptions where none are warranted," Cyrus answered. "We will not have a repeat of our difficulties from last time, Mars. If you continue to let things like this slip past you, I will re-evaluate the command structure of this organization. You will not be part of it any longer. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, Master Cyrus," she said

"Good. Once we have access to our warehouse and computer system, you will send Giovanni information regarding the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh. All of them," Cyrus said. "Remember, this is your final chance. Do not fail me again."

Mars bowed again and departed, her face red from a mixture of shame and anger. Even after all this time, and after all he'd seen in the Distortion World, he still carried the memory of the calamity from three years previously. Granted, that calamity led to his being trapped in the Distortion World, but she had worked tirelessly to free him, had he forgotten that?

It didn't matter, anyway. Hopefully, she'd be able to get away with a little bit more, and then she could leave all this behind. All it took was giving them what they needed, so they could take what they wanted later on.


	13. Chapter 13

**[1****3****]**

**-Johto; Goldenrod City-**

"You realize that what you're asking me to do is difficult, and slightly illegal, right?" Bill asked, looking at the five of them.

"We know, but we're running out of time," Cynthia said. "The whole world is. We have to find out what these people are planning so we can stop them, and your system can help us do that."

"It's not as simple as that," Bill said. "Even if you put a Pokémon like Porygon into the system, it'll still be traced. There are anti-viral programs in place to prevent anything foreign getting into sensitive areas. The International Police would notice it almost immediately."

"We're actually counting on them noticing," Cynthia said. "It's supposed to infiltrate Team Rocket's system. We believe Team Rocket is stealing Pokémon using the system anyway, and that's why they had the International Police link directly into it."

"Are you implying Team Rocket is controlling the International Police?" Bill asked, incredulous.

"Implying? No. We're directly stating it as fact," Pierce said. "Team Rocket's been brought back again. Giovanni's in charge of this whole coalition that features the Rockets, plus Teams Aqua and Magma, Galactic, Cipher, and Plasma. Every organization known for stealing Pokémon. And now what happens? The International Police demand a direct link to your storage system. How much are you willing to bet that every single Pokémon is still safe where they're supposed to be? Because I can almost guarantee you that they're not."

"I can see your point," Bill said. "You're correct, this is something that needs to be done with all possible alacrity."

"Alright, then. Norman, where's Porygon?" Pierce asked.

Norman held up a Poké Ball and said, "Right here. How do we transfer it into the PC Storage System?"'

"It so happens I have a private linkup right in here," Bill said. "It helps me to perform remote repairs on the system so I don't actually have to travel too far in case a PC breaks down."

The group followed him into the next room, and he sat down at a desk in front of a small laptop. It had a small device connected via USB, and he directed Norman to place the Poké Ball inside it. He typed in several commands on the laptop, and the Poké Ball dematerialized in a flash of light.

"Alright," Bill said. "I've placed the Pokémon inside the system. It appears you were right; several sectors of the system have already been cleaned out entirely. Porygon is in the next section that still has Pokémon in it. From the looks of it, that section is scheduled to be emptied in an hour."

"Alright, then. Once it's inside, we've instructed it to look for Team Rocket's system routed through Mahogany Town. We'll be able to do the rest of the work ourselves. What do we do to pull Porygon out again?" Pierce asked.

"Come back here. I'll recall Porygon to an empty sector and pull it out immediately," Bill answered.

"Thank you," Cynthia said. "Hopefully, we'll be back here in the morning. At the very least, a few of us will be."

"I'd still love to know what your plans are," Bill said. "I can try to help out if you need me to."

"Thanks, but we can't risk it," Norman said. "What we're doing is dangerous enough, and we know you probably don't have any Pokémon of your own that are strong enough to help out in a pinch. And the less you know, the better it is for you."

"I understand," the programmer said. "Good luck, then. I hope you find what you're looking for."

**-Pokémon Storage System-**

Everything inside a Poké Ball seemed boring. There was no information to assimilate, no data to peruse. Just nothingness. Waiting to be called on by a trainer.

So when it was suddenly opened up from its Poké Ball into the internal workings of the PC, Porygon grew excited. Still, it remembered its directive. It was supposed to find a certain section of code and work its way inside. Infiltration was not especially difficult; what was a few lines of code intermingling with another, after all? Porygon's programming was not invasive, merely inquisitive. It could float freely through cyberspace, and nobody would notice if they weren't watching it already, so long as it didn't change anything.

And it was not here to make change, at least not directly. It had to help the humans rescue the other Pokémon. It had to show the humans where to go. It wasn't going to sabotage any networks, or erase any files, or even clear out somebody's solitaire game.

Of course, the temptation always lingered, even for Porygon. It continually ran scenarios of what might happen if it changed a word here, moved a file there. After hundreds of possibilities, it decided sticking to its mission would be simplest.

It took roughly 6.925 seconds for the Pokémon to locate the sector of the internet classified to Team Rocket. It took another 4.62 seconds to slip past the security and firewalls of that sector, and another 1.24 to access the network specific to what, in the physical world, was Mahogany Town. Now, it just had to wait until the humans found the computer that was still running.

**-Johto; Mahogany Town-**

"So we're sure about the base still being here?" Flannery asked, her voice a whisper.

"We think so. There should be a switch around here somewhere," Pierce answered.

"Over here," Norman said, waving at the two of them.

They were inside a small hut behind the Pokémon Center, creeping along the old wooden walls blindly, looking for a button, a lever, a book, anything to signal where a hidden passage might be.

Pierce and Flannery joined Norman on the back wall of the shop, where he was standing in front of a curio cabinet. "Feel right here," he said, reaching along the edge of the cabinet. "Feel the wind slipping through here?"

"Yeah, I feel it. Base has to be through here," Pierce answered. "But how do we get it open?"

"We might just be able to push it aside," Norman suggested. "Here, give me a hand." The two of them began pushing on one side, and slowly, the cabinet budged. Unfortunately, the noise it made scraping across the floor was extremely loud. Pierce winced with every inch they pushed it.

"Now that the entire base probably knows we're here," Pierce muttered. "Look, a staircase."

"It's pitch-black down there," Flannery said.

"That's okay," Pierce replied. Pulling out a Poké Ball, he opened it and said, "Come on, Dusk. Use Flash so we can see where we're going." The oddly-colored Umbreon appeared, and his blue rings began to glow brightly as he slowly crept down the staircase.

The three of them followed him down, relieved at the light guiding them down into the earth. The staircase was not long; they reached the bottom after about fifteen steps. Walking on level ground now, they continued down a corridor. Dusk stopped short, lowering down into what looked like an attack posture, and Pierce looked ahead of them.

"Wonder what that is," he whispered, pointing to a statue in front of them. It was in the shape of the Pokémon Persian, but its catlike eyes were glowing red.

"Looks like a statue," Flannery said. "Why?"

"Dusk doesn't like it," Pierce answered. "It's trying to creep right in front of it. We should follow suit."

Hugging the wall, the three of them crept just underneath the statue's line of sight. They continued on when they thought they were out of range, but another pair of gleaming red eyes burned to life, and an alarm sounded. The lights in the facility immediately came up, and Pierce shouted, "Move!"

They continued down the corridor, running now, and came to a side passage. Ducking down it, they just barely missed being spotted by a couple of guards that were headed toward the entrance.

Wonder how we missed the other statue," Norman said quietly, once the grunts had passed. "They must've had some other sensor devices in here."

"Probably," Pierce said. "Now all we have to do is get to a room with an active computer and get what we need without being spotted." He pointed further down the passage, and they continued, no longer restricted by a lack of lighting.

After a few more close calls with other guards and statues, they managed to find a room with a few computers still on. As soon as they entered, one of the screens changed. Instead of a wall of meaningless text, it showed a computerized representation of Porygon.

"Look, it's already here waiting for us," Flannery said. They walked over to the computer where the Pokémon had appeared, and sat down, sifting through the information it presented them.

"It looks like Team Rocket's been receiving all sorts of files from all over the world," Pierce said. "I recognize the schematics for the Snag Machines, both the large model and the portable one. There are notes here from Cipher as well, and some from the Pokémon Research Lab in Orre regarding Shadow Pokémon."

"Shadow Pokémon?" Flannery asked.

"Pokémon that have been corrupted, brainwashed," Pierce answered. "A Shadow Pokémon is devoid of emotion or of conscience. It will ruthlessly attack other Pokémon and even trainers. They never perfected the program, though, because spending time with other Pokémon and kind-hearted trainers managed to rehabilitate them."

"These look like biometric data," Norman said, pointing to a group of files. "Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre. Teams Aqua and Magma tried capturing them a few years ago. Remember, Flannery?"

"Yeah, they made a lot of noise on Mount Chimney," Flannery said. "They wanted to force the volcano to erupt to create more landmass."

"It looks like there are several other Pokémon here I've never seen before," Pierce said. "And notes that Team Rocket put together on cloning research. What on earth are they planning?"

"No idea," Norman said. "But I don't like the look of it."

"Well I suppose it's fortunate you won't be around to witness it, then," a female voice behind them said. The three of them wheeled around to face a red-haired woman dressed in an upscale version of the Team Rocket uniform.

"Did you three really think you could get in here undetected?" she asked. "The curio cabinet is an old entrance, and one we don't use anymore. When the motion sensor in that stairwell was tripped, we knew someone had to be here. Of course, now that you're here and have seen everything, we can't let you leave."

"No, I don't suppose so," Pierce said. "Which means we'll end up fighting our way out of here."

"Over my dead body," the woman scoffed.

"If that's the way you want it, that's the way we'll do it," Norman said, ignoring the look from Flannery. "Personally, I was hoping for a more equitable solution. I don't like harming trainers."

"Too bad I don't share that philosophy," the woman replied. "Nobody in Team Rocket will need show mercy ever again."


	14. Chapter 14

**[14]**

**-Kanto; Viridian City-**

"For the record, this was a terrible idea," Sabrina said dryly. "We were supposed to get here undetected."

"You had a better idea?" Cynthia asked, glaring at the psychic. "Besides, what was I supposed to do, distract the guard by stripping naked?"

"It wouldn't have worked. He wouldn't be interested," Sabrina answered, smirking.

"More than I needed to know right now. Which way?" Cynthia asked. Sabrina pointed to the leftward path of a t-junction, and the two women followed it. They continued down the corridor, and were confronted by a group of Team Rocket grunts. The bangles on Sabrina's wrists glowed a bright green and she thrust a hand toward them, teleporting them away.

Sabrina led Cynthia further down the corridor, but was attacked from behind by a wave of black energy. Cynthia turned to look behind them, and saw another grunt with a Houndour. It had used Dark Pulse to attack the psychic Gym Leader.

Drawing a Poké Ball, Cynthia threw it and cried out, "Let's go, Lucario!" The blue doglike Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, facing off against the black dog. "Force Palm!"

At its Trainer's command, Lucario rushed the Houndour, its palm raised. It struck its opponent squarely in the flank, sending it flying into the wall. "Keep going, Lucario. Take out the trainer as well!" Cynthia shouted. The Pokémon hesitated for a moment; it had never been ordered to attack a human before. Nonetheless, Cynthia's tone was urgent, and so Lucario reluctantly followed with a second Force Palm into the gut of the Team Rocket grunt.

Sabrina got back to her feet, and Cynthia asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," the psychic answered. "I didn't anticipate them using a Dark-type attack, especially against humans."

"Let's keep going. We have to find Buck and get out of here," Cynthia said. The two of them continued along the corridor, rounding a corner up ahead of them, until they reached a secured door.

"There's no way in," the blond Champion said, gritting her teeth. "Unless we destroy the door."

"Allow me," Sabrina said. One of the Poké Balls on her belt opened, and an Alakazam emerged. Without a sound, its eyes began to glow blue. "It will take a few minutes," Sabrina said. "Alakazam will try to unlock the door for us with its psychic powers. Barring that, it'll just rip the door apart."

"It needs to hurry up," Cynthia said. "More grunts are on the way."

"It's working as fast as it can," Sabrina replied. "This door's locking mechanism is extremely complex."

"I hope Pierce and the others are having an easier time than we are," Cynthia muttered as more footsteps approached.

**-Johto; Mahogany Town-**

"Dusk, use Dark Pulse!" Pierce shouted. His Umbreon's rings glowed brightly and it sent a wave of black energy at their opponent.

"Out of the way, Arbok! Use Wrap to trap it!" the Team Rocket admin commanded. The large, snake-like Pokémon coiled away from the attack, then sped toward Dusk almost blindingly, wrapping its body tightly around the Umbreon's midsection.

"Hang tight, Dusk. Try to focus, and use Psychic while it can't get away!" Pierce shouted. His Pokémon forced his eyes open despite the pain, and they began to glow blue as it launched a mental attack against the giant snake. Arbok's hold weakened, and Dusk broke free of the hold before it used the psychic attack to send Arbok flying into its trainer.

Behind him, Norman was entangled with another higher-up in Team Rocket, while Flannery downloaded the files Porygon had shown them to a disk. Norman's Vigoroth used its tremendous speed and power to overwhelm its opponent, despite being poisoned.

Flannery slid out of the computer chair, pulling the disk with her and slipping it into a pocket. She turned to face the scenes of battle, and reached for her own Poké Ball to join the fray.

"Blaze, let's go!" she cried, throwing the ball. Her Blaziken materialized, already prepared for battle. "Let's give Norman a hand. Blaze Kick!" The Pokémon jumped high, its legs burning as it struck the Gloom Norman was presently contending with.

The computer room was chaotic with battle, but it looked like Team Rocket was being out-fought. Pierce turned to glance back at his comrades, and spotted another grunt moving toward Flannery in her blind spot. A Toxicroak was in front of him, stealthily moving in on the girl. Pierce abandoned his battle, trusting Dusk to hold its own, and rushed towards the Fire trainer.

The instant before the Toxicroak struck, Pierce reached her, shoving her out of the way. The resultant momentum carried him into the Pokémon's range, and the poison spike over its hand struck him. Pain flashed through him, radiating from his stomach. Dusk realized his trainer had been injured and whipped around, blasting the Toxicroak with another Dark Pulse before running to Pierce's side.

"Pierce!" Norman shouted over the din. His Vigoroth quickly disposed of its opponent before taking on the opponent Dusk had abandoned. "This isn't doing us any good. We have to get out of here!"

"No kidding," the injured Champion said. Forcing himself to one knee, he threw another Poké Ball, shouting, "Let's go, Cain!" A giant dog Pokémon, Arcanine, took shape and bared its fangs.

"Cain, we need to get out of here. Use Flamethrower to keep these guys off us!" Pierce shouted. Cain barked once, then emitted a stream of fire from its mouth, which formed a wall of fire between the trainers and the forces of Team Rocket. Norman helped Pierce to his feet, while the Champion recalled Dusk to its Poké Ball. Cain moved to stand beside him.

"Come on, Cain, let's keep the party moving," Pierce said, his voice growing slightly weaker. Cain shook its head, barking at him instead and shaking its mane. "What're you doing?"

"I think he means to carry you out himself," Norman said. "He wants me to put you on his back."

"You've got to be kidding-" Pierce started, before his knees collapsed, dropping him to the floor. Norman struggled to remain upright, but had to release his hold on the Champion.

Cain let loose another Flamethrower, strengthening the wall of fire keeping them safe, and Norman helped Pierce onto his back. "Don't argue. We've got what we came for, now we have to go. Flannery, it's time to leave!" Norman shouted.

Flannery recalled Blaze to its Poké Ball, and the three of them retreated toward the entrance. Only when they were safely outside the shack, in the full moonlight of Mahogany Town, did Flannery turn back to see Pierce. "Shit, Pierce! Are you alright?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Had a little run-in with a Toxicroak," he muttered, wincing through the pain.

"That's not funny. Excuse me for a moment," Norman said. He reached down to Pierce's belt and found Dusk's Poké Ball. The Umbreon emerged, and Norman said, "Dusk, use Flash. We need some more light."

Dusk's rings glowed brighter, and he put his front paws on Cain's side to help Norman see a little better. Norman leaned over and examined the Champion, and his expression became grim.

"What's wrong?" Flannery asked.

"The Toxicroak managed to cut right through his clothing. He has a deep puncture in his side. It's just shy of his kidney, so hopefully there aren't already any major problems. But unless we get him to a hospital quickly, there will be," Norman said. "That Toxicroak's spike was covered in poison. Pierce is in trouble unless he gets an antidote."

"Wait, when did you get hit by a Toxi-" Realization dawned on Flannery, cutting her off mid-sentence. "That was when you pushed me out of the way."

"Let's not dwell on that just now," Pierce said. "We need to get back to the rest house and wait for Cynthia and Sabrina."

"We need to get to a doctor," Norman countered.

"Rest house," Pierce objected, grabbing the front of Norman's shirt. "Doctors mean forms, forms mean my name gets out. That means our cause is screwed. I'm not going to be responsible for that. Just find some Pecha berries to cram down my throat or something."

"I don't think that's going to be enough," Norman said. "But we'll do it your way, just until we meet up with Cynthia and Sabrina."

**-Johto; Safari Zone-**

A few hours had passed, and Cynthia was going nuts. "Where are they?" she asked. "They should've beaten us back, or at least been very close."

"Assuming they had as easy a time of it as we did, they probably got a little behind schedule," the red-haired man sitting at the table answered. "Mind you, we had it fairly lucky. Sabrina managed to teleport us pretty much as soon as you got the restraints off."

Cynthia nodded silently. Dawn was beginning to break, and she forced herself to stifle a yawn. The truth of it was, it had been a long night, and a difficult one. Once they'd gotten the vault door open, they'd encountered even more resistance. She and Sabrina had had to battle past a half dozen members of Team Rocket before finally reaching Buck, who was shackled to a chair. Once Cynthia had had her Lucario break the restraints, they'd made their narrow escape.

Sabrina, exhausted from both the evening, and the frequent use of her psychic ability, had gone to bed already. Buck, for his part, wasn't gravely injured, just a few cuts and bruises from where Galactic had captured him. Cynthia felt her exhaustion, but refused to sleep until the others made it back.

She perked up immediately when she heard someone approaching, and noticed she'd dozed off for ten minutes. Embarrassed, she moved to the door and peered outside. Three figures were approaching. A man and a younger woman walked on either side of an Arcanine, whose mane barely obstructed the view of another person draped across its back. Judging from the hat the Arcanine wore, she knew it had to be Pierce, Norman, and Flannery.

"What happened to you guys?" she asked, running out to greet them. "Did you run into trouble?"

"More than our fair share," Norman answered. "We'll talk inside. Pierce has been poisoned."

"Poisoned? What happened?" Cynthia demanded.

"It was my fault…" Flannery muttered. "He pushed me out of the way when a Toxicroak was about to attack."

"Stop that, Flannery," Norman said. Leading the others inside, he explained, "We'd gotten into the base just fine, and even begun downloading the data. We were ambushed by several members of Team Rocket, including Ariana, one of the administrators."

"So you guys got into a fight, and Pierce was poisoned?" Cynthia asked.

"Right. We managed to get a small amount of Pecha berries, and they seem to be staving off the poison for right now, but there's no telling how effective it'll be," Norman answered.

"Sounds like we need to pay your grandma a visit," Buck said.

"Yes, it does. Unfortunately, Sinnoh's rather far out of reach right now," Cynthia said. "Also, I haven't introduced you. Buck, this is Norman of Petalburg City, and Flannery, of Lavaridge Town, both from Hoenn. The other man is Pierce. He's the Champion of the Pokémon League in the Orre region."

"A pleasure to meet you," Buck said. "I'm Buck. I'm Flint's little brother."

"Good to see you're safe," Norman said, shaking the younger man's hand. "I know your brother was especially worried about you."

"We need to get in touch with them and let them know we rescued him," Cynthia said. "I suppose it'd be easier to do in person."

"So we're going to Sinnoh?" Norman asked.

"We have to," Cynthia answered. "My grandmother lives in Celestic Town. She'll be able to help Pierce. We'll be able to leave as soon as we've all rested. Sabrina passed out a couple of hours ago."

"I hope so," Norman said. Flannery walked out the door without a word, prompting both of them to look after her. "Because at the rate we're going, we'll need him. Otherwise, we might lose Flannery, too."


	15. Chapter 15

**[15]**

**-Kanto; Viridian City-**

"Mister President, there's a call from Ariana in the Johto Facility for you, sir," the receptionist said over the intercom.

"Put her through," Giovanni said. The video screen in front of him shifted to show a red-haired woman who looked thoroughly harassed. "Ariana, what seems to be the trouble?"

"Three intruders broke into the facility last night, sir. They somehow broke into our computer network and downloaded information from it. We tried to capture them, but they fought back against us before setting fire to the place and escaping," she said.

"Did you manage to identify the intruders?" Giovanni asked, narrowing his eyes.

"One of them referred to another as Pierce. We heard the name immediately after one of the intruders was attacked," Ariana replied.

"Pierce, eh? It seems our friends in Cipher were not as thorough in their search as they claimed," Giovanni said. "You say he was attacked? Was he injured?"

"He was attacked by a Toxicroak. There is a high likelihood he has been poisoned," Ariana said. "Sir, what of the data in the network?"

"It is of no consequence. It's unlikely that these insects have the means to stop our plans, even if they can decipher what we're trying to accomplish," Giovanni stated. "In the meantime, double security on all our facilities."

"All of them, sir?"

"There was another break-in yesterday. The Saffron Gym Leader and another woman attacked our facility here to recover the prisoner Team Galactic sent us," Giovanni said. "They can't have gone too far; surveillance showed Sabrina was injured during their flight. In the meantime, I want security enhanced at every single one of our facilities, is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Ariana replied. Giovanni terminated the connection, and when the video screen went dark, he hammered his desk with a fist. Twice. These fools had attacked him twice in the same day, in the same hour! That anyone had enough brass to accomplish one assault was galling enough, but he had been attacked twice.

Furious, he began to compose a message to be delivered to the International Police. He would make certain no one else dared trouble him again, or they would pay the price.

**-Sinnoh; Canalave City-**

"Miss Cynthia, we've made port in Canalave City," Mr. Briney said, knocking on the door of her cabin.

"Thank you," Cynthia replied. She grabbed her coat and put it on, then opened the cabin door and walked out onto the deck. Despite the dire circumstances, she was happy to be back home in Sinnoh. She looked at the grizzled sea captain and asked, "Has Pierce been transported to shore yet?"

"Aye, he has. Buck and Norman are with him now," Mr. Briney answered. "And Flannery just went down to the docks ahead of you."

"Thank you," Cynthia said. "You've been a tremendous help to us."

"Anytime," he answered. "I hope Pierce is feeling better soon."

"I'll pass that along to him," she replied. She disembarked, joining the others on the dock. Despite being held up by Buck, Pierce was trying desperately not to give any indication of the amount of pain he was in. She watched as he pulled a peach-shaped berry from his jacket pocket and popped it in his mouth.

"Good, the queen is here at last," Pierce muttered.

"What was that?" Cynthia asked, giving him an amused smirk.

"I said when are we gonna leave? These berries taste like shit," the other Champion answered.

"Well, there's a reason for that. They're meant for Pokémon, not people," Cynthia said. "Come on. Celestic Town is to the northeast of here. We can probably catch a charter there."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Norman asked. "You're the Champion of this region. Everyone will recognize you, no matter where you go. We should probably try to avoid public transit."

"That was what I had in mind," Cynthia answered. "I know some trails that lead more directly to Celestic Town. They pass just north of Celestic Town to Mount Coronet. Celestic is on the other side of the mountain."

"Let's start heading that way, then," Norman said. "Where's this charter of yours, anyway?"

"A little further away. If they're still there, it's a small ranch about halfway between here and Eterna Forest," Cynthia answered. "They should have some Ponyta or Rapidash we can borrow to get us to Celestic faster."

"I remember that ranch," Buck said. "They should still be there. They're pretty far away from any police patrols."

"Sounds like a plan, then. Let's get going," Norman said.

It took them an hour of walking, and in that time, Norman and Buck took turns half-carrying Pierce. Finally, they reached the ranch. Cynthia and Buck went farther ahead, and Flannery went off to the edge of the forest. Norman stood next to Pierce, who had sat down on the grass. Sabrina sat down beside him, meditating.

After a few moments of silence, Norman walked off after Flannery, trying to talk to her. "Are you alright?" he asked, approaching her.

"No," she said. "I feel useless. I had to abandon my Gym, I had to abandon my home, and I had to… I took too long downloading that data. I should've been letting to drive do its work, and I should've been helping you guys a lot sooner. If I hadn't, Pierce wouldn't have…"

"What happened to Pierce wasn't your fault, you know," Norman said. "It was Team Rocket's fault for ambushing us. It was that Toxicroak's fault for attacking humans."

"It was my fault because I moved too slow," Flannery said stubbornly. "I could've taken care of more enemies if I wasn't sitting on my ass."

"I still wish you'd stop beating yourself up over it. Pierce is going to be fine," Norman said. As if on cue, Pierce retched, threatening to vomit. Norman winced, and added, "Just as soon as we get him to Celestic Town."

Flannery shook her head. "If you say so. I don't even know why I'm here, honestly. I ran away."

"You think I didn't? You think any of us chose to be here, instead of where we should be? I had to force my daughter out of my Gym so she'd be safe," Norman said. "Buck went off after his brother, and got captured because of it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," Flannery said. Sighing heavily, she added, "Once again, I'm trying to be someone I'm not. I'm trying to be some grand hero, or some resistance fighter, and all I'm going is letting people down, and letting people get hurt because of me."

"Is that what this is about?" Norman asked. "You think you're not a hero? Because believe me, you became a hero the moment you decided to become a Gym Leader. Whether you see it that way or not, you did. You've helped trainers achieve stronger bonds with their Pokémon, their friends. You've helped us, too, just by being here."

"No I haven't. If I hadn't been here, Pierce wouldn't be poisoned."

"That's ridiculous," Norman said. "If you hadn't been here, Pierce and I might both have been captured by Team Rocket." He watched Flannery shudder slightly, and added, "That's really it, isn't it. You don't want anything to happen to Pierce."

After a couple of seconds' hesitation, Flannery said, "Don't know what you're talking about."

"You'd be surprised. If it helps any, I know how that feels. That's part of why I forced my daughter into hiding," Norman said, changing the topic somewhat. "But just wait and see. We'll all be perfectly fine." This time, to his relief, Pierce didn't make any sounds. Cynthia, however, did.

"Are you all ready to go? With these Pokémon's help, we should be in Celestic Town within the hour," she said.

"We're almost ready," Norman said. "Here, Buck, help me get Pierce up onto one of the Rapidash."

"Cain's still faster," Pierce muttered before coughing.

"Yes, but Cain doesn't do well crossing water," Norman said. "Besides, if you start to fall off Cain, who's going to catch you? You'll be so far ahead we won't be able to help."

"Whatever," Pierce mumbled. He grasped Buck's proffered hand, letting the red-haired youth pull him up. He staggered over to one of the Rapidash and slowly clambered up on its back. Once all the trainers were mounted, Cynthia led them out.

It took them almost an hour, but Cynthia finally spotted the lit windows of Celestic Town's homes. She guided them carefully along the outskirts of the town, lest someone spot them and cause a stir. At last, they reached their destination, and Cynthia dismounted her steed, walking into the home her grandmother lived in.

"Cynthia, dear! What brings you back home?" her grandmother asked, surprised.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," the blond Champion replied. "We need your help."

"Of course! What's wrong?" the old woman asked. Cynthia nodded to the door, and Buck and Norman dragged Pierce in.

"He's been badly poisoned," Norman answered, trying to keep his voice down. "He just lost consciousness."

"Well, come in, come in. Lay him down in the guest room," Cynthia's grandmother said. "Which Pokémon was it that poisoned him? I have several antidotes here."

"Toxicroak," Norman answered.

"Well, that's an easy one," the old woman said. "I have plenty of that antidote here. Toxicroak and Croagunk are both very common around here. Now, he'll be in for a full night of sleep, which I daresay is something all of you need."

"Thank you," Cynthia said. "We appreciate it. I'll go and get Sabrina and Flannery so the Ponyta and Rapidash we borrowed can go back to the ranch."

Norman and Buck sat down at the kitchen table, and when the three women returned, Cynthia's grandmother exited Pierce's room, closing the door gently behind her. "He's taken the antidote and he's resting now. In a few hours, he'll be right as rain. Now, Cynthia, why don't you introduce me to all your friends, and tell me what's been happening since you left?"

"Well, alright," the blond answered. Indicating each of her partners in turn, she said, "This is Sabrina of Saffron City in Kanto; this is Norman of Petalburg City, and that's Flannery of Lavaridge Town, both in Hoenn. You already know Buck, he's Flint's brother.

"As for what we've been doing, that'll take somewhat longer to explain. Suffice it to say, we've done everything I've set out to do so far, except for actually wresting control of the Pokémon world from these thugs. With what we've discovered, though, it won't be long before we finally accomplish that goal as well."

"Well, I still say it's dangerous work. You lot need a good meal and a good night's rest before you keep going on this adventure," Cynthia's grandmother replied. "Sit tight and I'll make something for you all. Also, Buck, it may interest you to know I've seen your brother recently, along with Volkner."

"Big bro's been here? How long ago? Where'd he go?" Buck asked, instantly perking up at the news.

"Must've been two or three days now," the old woman replied. "They were on their way to Pastoria City. Apparently they needed to lay low, and the Great Marsh is where they've been going."

"That sounds about like us," Norman said. "We've been hiding in Johto's Safari Zone up until last night."

"Well, hopefully you won't have to be in hiding any longer," the old woman said. "I for one would love to have my granddaughter home with me again."

"I know, grandmother," Cynthia said. "And I hope to be able to, soon. It may be awhile yet, but eventually we will succeed. Count on it."


	16. Chapter 16

**[16]**

**-Sinnoh; Celestic Town-**

Dawn crept through the windows, the sunlight forcing its way into the eyes of Buck and Norman, who had fallen asleep in their chairs late the night before. The red-haired trainer blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes to the rather abrupt lighting change. The older trainer rubbed his eyes for a few seconds, then stifled a yawn. "Morning, Buck," he said.

"Morning, Norman. Anyone else awake yet?" Buck asked.

"Don't think so. We'd probably have already heard them moving around," Norman answered.

Buck nodded and cast his eyes on Pierce's door. Then his gaze dropped, falling on a red-haired girl sitting against the wall, fast asleep. "Was she there all night?" the young trainer asked.

Norman turned to follow his gaze and frowned. "Not sure. I don't remember her being there. She might've crept past in the middle of the night," he said. Rising from his chair, he crossed the room to her and knelt beside her. Shaking her gently, he whispered, "Flannery, wake up."

She jerked quickly, her eyes opening wide as she glared at Norman. When she realized who it was, though, her expression softened. "Sorry. I didn't expect anyone to be waking me up," she said.

"You needed it," Buck said. "What were you sleeping in the floor for?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Flannery said. "Beds were all taken anyway."

"No they weren't," Buck answered flatly. "There are two beds in Sabrina's room."

Norman caught his eye and shook his head quickly. "In any case, you should go try to get some actual sleep," he said. "I suspect Cynthia's grandmother will be awake shortly, if she isn't already. That means go sleep in an actual bed, even if it's just for an hour."

Begrudgingly, Flannery worked her way up the wall until she was standing, then shuffled toward one of the other spare bedrooms, closing the door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Buck asked.

"I'm not particularly at liberty to discuss it," Norman said. "I suspect it has something to do with why Flannery has been so moody the last day or so."

Buck shrugged, and Norman slowly turned the knob to Pierce's room, entering stealthily and shutting the door behind him. To his surprise, the Champion was already awake. "Good morning," Norman said. "How are you feeling?"

"Morning, Norman," Pierce answered. "A little better, not nearly as sick. My side still hurts like a bitch, though." He raised his arm, showing the bandage Cynthia's grandmother had applied. There was a small spot of blood that had peeked through, but not enough for concern.

"That's good," Norman said. "Look, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"I want you to try to be more careful," the older trainer answered. "You're too reckless sometimes, and even though you may be Champion of one of the wildest regions in the world, you are not invincible."

"I know that," Pierce said. "I don't take unnecessary risks. I even had to remind Cynthia of that when we started this little adventure. She thought I'd go after them all myself, but I know what my limits are."

"I'm not sure you do, and that's what concerns me," Norman countered. "What's more, is while you're endangering yourself, you're upsetting others. There are… some of us who have been quite worried about you."

Pierce looked into the older trainer's eyes and thought about the past two days. All of them had shown concern over his well-being, save for Sabrina, who was aloof by nature, and Flannery, who had been shut-in for most of the time they'd been on the run. He vaguely remembered the latter running off the day before, preferring to sit by herself until Norman had gone to talk to her. So that's it, huh? Flannery has been worried about me, and for more than just being injured.

Pierce sighed heavily and looked down. "Look, Norman, I appreciate it. I really do," he said. "And I know I might seem reckless at times, but… well, sometimes the reason I get reckless is because I want to protect people who are important to me."

"Those people aren't just important to you, you know," Norman said. "You're important to them as well. Perhaps moreso than you realize."

"No, I think I realize pretty well," Pierce answered. "And it could be that maybe they're that important to me, too."

Norman smiled. "I see," he said simply. "Well, then. Now that that little chat is out of the way, I'll go and see if Cynthia's grandmother is awake so you can change your bandage. I'm sure we'll be treated to breakfast shortly thereafter."

He left the room quietly, coming face to face with the very woman of whom he'd been speaking. "Oh, you are awake," he said. "Pierce is feeling much better this morning. The antidote you gave him last night must've worked wonders."

"I should hope so," she said. "He said a number of nasty things about it that should never be uttered in polite society, let alone around little old ladies."

Norman smiled again. "Well, he has spirit, even if nothing else can be said for him," he said. "I wouldn't take it too personally, though. I'm sure he's quite grateful."

The old woman smiled and said, "I know he is. And I want him to understand that I don't expect payment from him, only that he keeps my granddaughter safe. I expect the same of you, as well. You all need to keep one another safe so you can go home to your families."

"I know," Norman replied. "And we'll make sure of it, I'm certain. For now, though, these are dangerous times, and the road ahead is rife with peril. We'll simply have to muddle through the best we can."

"Well, while you're muddling, don't forget what it's all for," the old woman said. "Too many times I've seen people go off with some wild dream, and have it consume them, body and soul. Even Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, once had an honest heart, but that heart grew bitter and cold. Now look at him."

Norman nodded. "I've seen it happen a few times as well," he said. "Don't worry. If there's anyone I trust to keep our heads in the game, it's your granddaughter."

The old woman nodded. "Go on and sit down, dear. I'll change your friend's bandages, and then we'll eat before you go off to wherever you're headed."

Norman turned as she left the room, and resumed his place at the table where he'd fallen asleep the night before. "So, Buck," he said. "I take it you're planning on joining your brother in the Great Marsh?"

"That was the idea," Buck said. "Although I'm tempted to stay behind here. You guys might need me, to keep you from getting hurt and all."

Norman chuckled. "I certainly hope this will be the last injury we have to cope with for a while," he said. "If you want, once everyone is awake and well fed, we can begin the journey south to meet Flint and Volkner."

"Sounds like a plan," Buck said.

"Good," Cynthia's voice said from behind Norman. "Because we have precious few of those right now. For example, we need to know where the other bases are so we can start disrupting operations in the enemy's plans."

"Well, big bro has already trashed a few places here," Buck said. "And you and Sabrina tore up that place in Kanto pretty good."

"Cain torched most of the Johto facility as well," Norman said. "I would imagine most of the computers there were destroyed, which is a boon."

"This is true," Cynthia said. "We still need to find a way to take these organizations down, though. The sooner, the better."

"Why not just head back to Viridian? All of us against the head? Cut off the head, and the beast dies," Buck said.

"Because there are, including you, eight of us. If we went after them now, we'd be contending with Team Rocket, as well as the possibility of Galactic and Plasma, at the very least," Cynthia replied. "Despite the relative strength each of us possesses, those are insurmountable odds."

Buck appeared downcast as he mumbled, "Oh."

"But the good news is, your brother and Volkner have been causing a stir here, so Team Galactic will be more occupied dealing with them than they are helping their allies," Norman pointed out. "If we can cause some more dissent among the groups, we might catch them off-guard."

"And how do we manage that?" Cynthia asked.

"By giving them what they want the most. We offer ourselves up," Norman said.

"Are you crazy?" Cynthia asked, incredulous. "If we give ourselves up, then who's going to save the world?"

"It's actually a brilliant plan, once you think about it," Pierce said, standing in the doorway.

"Pierce! You're feeling better?" Cynthia asked.

"About ninety-five percent," Pierce said. "Side's still a little rough, but the wound is mostly closed. Anyway, Norman's plan has the idea of novelty. We can turn ourselves in all at once. Each of the teams has enough reason to be angry at all of us, so they'll start fighting over who gets who. They start fighting each other, we walk right in behind them and clean up."

"That… actually makes sense when you put it that way," Cynthia said. "It still might not work, though. They may be solely interested in controlling all the Pokémon in the world, despite what we mean to them personally."

"Then our alternative is to seek them out where they rest, and burn their homes to the ground," a mystical voice said softly. The four trainers looked up to see Sabrina, walking from her room into the dining area. "Figuratively, of course. We merely need to destroy their equipment, and their plans will be for naught."

"Makes sense," Pierce said. "But do we destroy them at the source, or at the destination?"

"Why not the source?" Norman asked. "It would split us up, yes, but if each group fails to deliver the product they're assigned, it would cause dissension among them, just the same as if we walked up to them and turned ourselves in."

"Yes, exactly," Cynthia said. "It would involve splitting us pretty far apart. We'd have to be in Unova, Orre, Kanto, and all at the same time."

"Why Unova?" Buck asked.

"Part of the equipment for Team Rocket's cloning technology is being provided by Team Plasma," Norman answered. "It was one of the things we discovered while we were looking over the data we got from the Johto lab."

"So that's it, then," Pierce said. "We're going to start hitting them one at a time, from everywhere at once."

"That's our best option right now," Cynthia replied.

"Great. So one question," Pierce said. "Where's Flannery? She didn't run off, did she?"

"No, I woke up and sent her to bed. She'd been sleeping in the floor in here for most of the night," Norman said.

"Wonder why she did that," Cynthia muttered. Norman, Pierce, and Sabrina all exchanged glances, but remained silent.

"In any event," Cynthia's grandmother interrupted, "it would do all of you good to get ready for breakfast. Someone will need to wake that poor girl when it's ready, so she doesn't miss out."

"Right," Pierce said. "So wake-up, breakfast, then mass chaos. Sounds like a fun day."


	17. Chapter 17

**[1****7****]**

**-****Sinnoh; Pastoria City****-**

"Heads up, Flint. Somebody's creeping around out there," Volkner said, glancing out the window. He tried to shrink back away from it in an effort to not be spotted himself.

"How can you tell?" Flint asked.

"The Pokémon are moving this way," the electric trainer answered. "Kicking up a hell of a mud storm doing it."

Flint stood and looked out the window as well. He saw several figures approaching them. They looked like a motley assortment, and probably didn't belong to Team Galactic. Then he saw something that made him whoop for joy. "Volkner! They've got Buck!" he shouted.

"You serious?" Volkner said, getting a second look. Surely enough, one of the people walking toward them was Flint's younger brother. Hastily, he got up and opened the door, jumping out of the train car they'd been hiding in, Flint hot on his heels.

When Buck saw the two of them emerge, he pushed past two other people, sprinting toward them. The two brothers met halfway, laughing and hugging, while Volkner kept going to meet the others, one of which he recognized.

"Cynthia, good to see you again," the Gym Leader said. "Who are all these people?" Cynthia went around making introductions, and Volkner nodded. "I see. Well, I'm thankful to you all for your hand in rescuing Buck. Flint's been having a really bad time of it."

"I can only imagine," Cynthia answered. "And I won't lie to you. It wasn't easy getting him back."

"No, I know it wasn't," Volkner said. "Although I am curious, how did you know he had been captured in the first place?"

"I saw it on the news," Norman said. "I was on my way to meet Cynthia, and a news report mentioned he'd been captured."

"I see," Volkner said. "Wonder how the news found out."

"Beats me," Norman said. "I'm just glad they did, because if he'd been allowed to remain at Team Rocket's mercy, there's no telling what might have happened."

Pierce turned back to Flannery and motioned for her to join him away from the rest of the group. She did so, hesitantly, and he said, "Hey. Everything alright?"

She shrugged, looking down at the ground. "I guess. Flint's got his brother back and we got the data we needed," she said quietly.

"Then why is everybody else walking _not_ looking like they were gutted?" Pierce asked, planting his hands on his hips. Flannery didn't respond. She sighed heavily and turned her back on him. In response, he took three steps, moving around to her opposite side. "If you keep this up, it's going to get tiring."

She sighed again, briefly glancing up at him. "Pierce, please, just stop," she said. "There's nothing wrong. Just let it go."

"Oh, stop it, Flannery. You and I both know that's a load of shit," Pierce said, rolling his eyes.

She snapped her head up at that, looking at him as if she'd been slapped. "Just what in the hell-"

"You've been moping around for a couple of days now. Even when I was half knocked-out, I noticed it," Pierce answered. "We all have. We're worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about!" Flannery said. "I've just had things on my mind."

"Things on your mind since the night we hit Mahogany Town," Pierce said.

"What makes you say-"

"Because that night was when you changed," Pierce answered. "Again, we all noticed it. I mean, it's one thing to question what we're doing. There are moments even I wondered if we were all insane. But the same night we score our first pair of victories, you seem like you were defeated all the same."

Flannery looked down at the ground, but the Champion tilted her chin back up so she was looking into his eyes. "Pierce, just let it go. I promise, it's nothing," she said.

"I am going to worry about it. Look, I already know what the problem is. I just wanted to hear you say it. It seems like it's something you need to talk about, yeah?" Pierce said. "Because if you leave it bottled up, it's not going to do anyone any good."

Flannery glanced off to the side, still refusing to look him in the eye. After a few moments, she sighed, and Pierce removed his hand from her chin. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "The night we went to Mahogany Town… when we were ambushed by Team Rocket, I didn't think there was any way we could escape. Still, I stayed at the computer, I made sure the data was downloaded.

"When you and Norman started fighting back, I had a glimmer of hope. I watched you battle with everything you had, and when the data was finally done, I tried to join in and help out. You turned around to save me. You ended up getting hurt, and that made me feel like I wasn't doing enough," she said, a tear forming in her eye.

"That's ridiculous," Pierce said. "You were doing more than enough just by being there."

"I felt like I got in the way. Like I was just some rookie trainer. It almost reminded me of my first few months as a Gym Leader. I realized how much of a wreck I was and got my act together. But when you pushed me out of the way to take the hit, I just lost it again. I started feeling like I wasn't doing enough, and I tried to," she said. "I thought that maybe, maybe I'd be able to help out and give us a way out, but I couldn't. I felt useless."

"You're not useless," Pierce said, furrowing his brow. "We were all out of our depth that night. None of us knew we'd be detected, and yet we still managed to escape. We still got what we went in for. And believe it or not, you helped."

"No I didn't. Because of me you got hurt," Flannery said.

"Because I was reckless, I got hurt. I could've had Cain turn and burn down that Toxicroak, and he would've been faster at it than I was," Pierce said. "But I forgot about him, because all I could focus on was you."

"On me?" Flannery asked. "But why?"

"It's not important," Pierce said. "Suffice it to say that it was revealed to me by Norman that… well, let's just say you're as important to me as I am to you."

Flannery blushed slightly, and turned away again. "Pierce, I…"

"It's okay," the Champion said. "Just… cheer up, alright? We're all worried about you. Especially me."

Flannery nodded as Pierce walked back to the others. She wiped her tears and smiled before turning to follow him.

**-Parts Unknown-**

"Giovanni, is there a problem?"

"No, of course not. One of my facilities was broken into, valuable data stolen. Our headquarters right here was attacked, and a prisoner stolen from our grasp. We still have not identified these pests. What could possibly be the problem?" Giovanni asked.

"There's no need for sarcasm. The loss of data is inconsequential. The prisoner, believe it or not, is inconsequential. We can still proceed with our plans, correct?"

"Well, yes, Ghetsis. But the fact remains that our pride and honor have been assaulted. Typically, that's not something I stand for," Giovanni answered.

The other man waved his comment away. "Giovanni, we're taking over the world. Honor isn't something we've ever had much to do with. As for your pride, you'll have to shelve it for now. We're not doing things by our old ways, because our old ways haven't worked. Our old ways would never have put you in political office, or in direct control of the International Police. Now, settle your security problem if it'll make you feel better. But make certain you have enough resources to devote to our ultimate operation. I'll expect updates on the Shadow Project regularly."

"Of course, Ghetsis. We'll be in touch," Giovanni said, switching off the video screen. After the connection was terminated, he pounded his desk. "One of these days, I'm going to have him killed. That day won't come soon enough."


End file.
